tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15109200114435506632018-08-14T22:08:53.055+01:00Inventory FullBhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comBlogger1252125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-16245037876850180142018-08-14T19:09:00.000+01:002018-08-14T21:17:24.138+01:00Get Smart : GW2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LZY3HvOnzCs/W3MZzyeevuI/AAAAAAAAUlk/JqCAKeiGV6wGc3hGnxqgt31x0RJudkQfACLcBGAs/s1600/gw2balloon1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="884" data-original-width="1600" height="352" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LZY3HvOnzCs/W3MZzyeevuI/AAAAAAAAUlk/JqCAKeiGV6wGc3hGnxqgt31x0RJudkQfACLcBGAs/s640/gw2balloon1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Festival of the Four Winds ends today. I had to be at work by eight in the morning so I thought last night's session was the last I'd see of The Crown Pavilion and Labrynthine Cliffs until next year.<br />I spent most of the evening on the newest of my three accounts, the only one that wasn't around last time we saw this content, grabbing bundles in the Treasure Hunt and doing any event I could find to earn Festival Tokens.<br /><br />I just managed to scrape up enough treasure to by a kite and with my tokens I got a hot air balloon on a string and that yellow flower that goes on your back. The sense of satisfaction when I was finally able to buy them, just before the clock passed the absolute latest I could stay up and still be half-awake in work the next day, was disturbing. I haven't been that keen to get something in an MMORPG for a long while.<br /><br />Then I get home tonight, have my tea, read Feedly, log in and find the Festival's still there! I'm&nbsp; listening to the sounds of preparations for Boss Blitz in the background as I type.<br /><br />I mentioned in yesterday's post that I had something to say about Boss Blitz. I really enjoy it as an exciting, involving event&nbsp; but I also find it fascinating as a social and psychological experiment. Or perhaps it's a demonstration.<br /><br />Boss Blitz isn't hard to understand or to do. The optimal way to run the event is for everyone to split into six teams of eight to ten people. Ideally, certain classes or builds concentrate on particular bosses that suit their abilities. There are some mechanics that need to be explained, such as <i>Boom Boom Baines</i>' healing turret, but most of the bosses are tank&amp;spank with a lot of dodging. <br /><br /><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UPTRKX5JAi0/W3MaPsulP8I/AAAAAAAAUls/jEcmmlrwAD8s1iKfxpPztXzlUbnyjRjBwCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2bb3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="778" data-original-width="1600" height="308" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UPTRKX5JAi0/W3MaPsulP8I/AAAAAAAAUls/jEcmmlrwAD8s1iKfxpPztXzlUbnyjRjBwCLcBGAs/s640/gw2bb3.jpg" width="640" /></a>Once set up, preferably under six Commanders using different colored tags for clarity, each team goes to its designated Boss. All teams then attempt to bring their Boss to 10% health at the same time. Some inevitably get there first, meaning they have to "hold" the Boss at that point without doing further damage.<br /><br />Someone needs to call out the health of each boss at frequent intervals in a public channel. I often took it upon myself to do that bit. I like yelling. I got suppressed a few times for spamming map chat, something which is all too easy to do in <i>GW2</i>, where you can be banned from sending items to your own characters after two deliveries in quick succession. I should have used /squad which doesn't use the same anti-spam mechanics.<br /><br />Once the slowest team gets their boss to 10%, their Commander gets to give the "Burn" command, whereupon everyone goes flat out to kill the boss in front of them as fast as possible. The reason for the co-ordinated kill is that each boss passes its signature ability (bombs, adds, banishment) on to all the other bosses when it dies, meaning each kill makes every other boss more difficult.<br /><br />If everything goes to plan a good, organized map can complete this in about five minutes. The timer for the Gold award is eight minutes. This year I didn't get one Gold in three weeks. Four and five years ago I got plenty. I'm not sure what to read into that. Have GW2 players got worse? Is the event harder? Was I just unlucky with the maps I picked?<br /><br /><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--sQA21gr6QM/W3MaVJY6qPI/AAAAAAAAUlw/1rYKPm_SA-AO01cskTU7Umy7mQ_4DC50wCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2bb2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="1600" height="254" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--sQA21gr6QM/W3MaVJY6qPI/AAAAAAAAUlw/1rYKPm_SA-AO01cskTU7Umy7mQ_4DC50wCLcBGAs/s640/gw2bb2.jpg" width="640" /></a>I did get lots of high Silvers (time limit sixteen minutes, we did it often in nine or ten) and any number of Bronzes (no time limit). I used the LFG tool to swap maps often until I got one that was at least trying to get Gold or Silver. There were fewer of those than you might expect.<br /><br />Most of the maps were barely organized at all. Instead of doing it as described above (a description that I saw repeated in map chat many times by patient or frustrated players) people did what they do everywhere in GW2 - ran around in a huge zerg trying to overwhelm all opposition by weight of numbers. Some of the squads advertizing in LFG even said "zerg" or "bronze" in the description, indicating an active disinclination to make more than the minimal effort.<br /><br />Of course, zerging means that not only does each boss get harder as it acquires the abilities of the ones who died before it, but GW2's scaling mechanic means every boss also gains a gigantic health pool to reflect the army of players opposing it. An event that is self-evidently intended to take between eight to sixteen minutes often stretches out to half an hour or more.<br /><br />The fascinating part is that by the second week of the Festival everyone knew this and yet the majority of players carried on doing it anyway. Angry and embittered experts railed against the idiocy but it seems clear to me that most players <i>preferred </i>to zerg. They knew it would take longer and they just didn't care.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LMU9Gk9vCPY/W3MacHL1GqI/AAAAAAAAUl0/kA8b-0vRkXMgKq65DbaXX5xG-rL22J4TgCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2bb1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="878" data-original-width="1431" height="392" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LMU9Gk9vCPY/W3MacHL1GqI/AAAAAAAAUl0/kA8b-0vRkXMgKq65DbaXX5xG-rL22J4TgCLcBGAs/s640/gw2bb1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />After all, it's not like they had anywhere else to be. This is the event of the moment so they were doing it. The rewards for finishing faster weren't significantly better so there wasn't much incentive to organize. And in any case, zerging is a social activity, not a competetive one.<br /><br />Watching this drama enacted over and over again was instructive and entertaining. Some people were so angry they must have had steam coming out of their ears in real life. The accusation was almost always that those who wouldn't organize were too stupid to know what was expected of them but the replies very clearly indicated the opposite. Everyone knew what they "should" be doing - they just didn't want to do it.<br /><br />I very much did want to do it properly. I love organized content. I like events where everyone has to get into teams and go to different places and do different things to achieve a collective success. I love Dragon's Stand and Auric Basin and my favorite event of all time in GW2 was Scarlet's Marionette.<br /><br />And yet I still enjoy a good, mindless zerg, even when I'm well aware it's inefficient and even counter-productive. Running around in gang of fifty, taking on massive hit-point sponges and wearing them down by sheer bloody-mindedness has its own appeal.<br /><br />I guess you can have smart, clever fun or dumb, stupid fun. Either way you're still having fun.<br /><br />Give me the choice and I'll go for the smart option, though. Well, eight times out of ten. Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-8028475570968082862018-08-13T11:43:00.000+01:002018-08-13T11:43:20.923+01:00A Little Late or Always Read The Instructions : GW2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BgM-e_09dzo/W3FC3g15QHI/AAAAAAAAUks/ZgeaVVuTtagGTDEjHMoeBNm0ed-F2WMSQCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2kite1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BgM-e_09dzo/W3FC3g15QHI/AAAAAAAAUks/ZgeaVVuTtagGTDEjHMoeBNm0ed-F2WMSQCLcBGAs/s640/gw2kite1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>When the <i>Festival of the Four Winds</i> began three weeks ago I took a look at the Meta and decided it was impossible. Usually these things allow a certain amount of leeway. They let you to skip a couple of the achievements you might find particularly difficult. This time it appeared you had to do all of them.<br /><br />What's more, there were twenty-five, which is a lot. And the reward was some piece of armor that you couldn't Preview in game. A pair of gloves. It sounded like an awful lot of work for a pair of gloves. Who looks at their hands in an MMO anyway? Gloves aren't like a cloak or a hat that you can show off or admire. They're just gloves.<br /><br />I dismissed any thought of finishing the meta. I just got on with doing the events and achievements that interested me or those I enjoyed. Which turned out to be most of them.<br /><br /><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qj667tRVO38/W3FcJefXw6I/AAAAAAAAUk4/gvyunxsYigoSUXojIjiGutGRWmUaOO53gCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2meta1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="645" height="348" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qj667tRVO38/W3FcJefXw6I/AAAAAAAAUk4/gvyunxsYigoSUXojIjiGutGRWmUaOO53gCLcBGAs/s400/gw2meta1.jpg" width="400" /></a>For one thing, I loved finding all the crystals. I was gliding around Labrynthine Cliffs on thermals for the sheer thrill of it anyway, so why not swoop down and pick up the shinies?<br /><br />So much has changed since the Festival was here four and five years ago. One of the most under-reported additions to the game has to be the UI tweak that lets you to have the names of all interactable objects visible on screen, at a distance, all the time. Combined with the ability to fly - either&nbsp; with a glider or a Griffin - what was once annoying and difficult has become simple and instinctive.<br /><br />So instinctive, in fact, that I didn't need to use <a href="http://dulfy.net/2018/07/24/gw2-aspect-gatherer-achievement-guide/"><span style="color: magenta;">Dulfy's excellent guide</span></a> until the very end, when I had to resort to research to find a couple of particularly well-hidden crystals. Mostly I just ran or flapped around and grabbed them as I saw them. Working out how to get to some of the ones I could see from a distance was particualarly enjoyable and satisfying.<br /><br />Boss Blitz, the event in Queen Jenna's Crown Pavilion that involves the perpetual slaughter of six Bosses, held my attention for the entire three weeks. It's an almost perfect demonstration of social interaction in MMOs. In fact, when I came to write about it here I found I had so much to say it was in danger of unbalancing this post, so I'm going to write it up separately.<br /><br /><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sJSj7Vk_v04/W3FcbK9-21I/AAAAAAAAUlA/y9uMI086TXI0VnUEvevvacuCxb-g9gygACLcBGAs/s1600/gw2list1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="507" data-original-width="560" height="361" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sJSj7Vk_v04/W3FcbK9-21I/AAAAAAAAUlA/y9uMI086TXI0VnUEvevvacuCxb-g9gygACLcBGAs/s400/gw2list1.jpg" width="400" /></a>After a week or so I noticed that I'd done about two-thirds of the achievements for the meta. I also <br />realized about then that the tally of achievements that counted included some I hadn't thought were part of it, while some I thought were included didn't seem to count after all.<br /><br />Had I thought to left-click the meta itself, all would have been revealed. There's an itemized list of what's required. Despite having played this game for six years that simply never occurred to me. It was only when someone mentioned it in map chat yesterday that I gave it a try.<br /><br />Instead, I kept plugging away over the course of the Festival, letting the meta fill in as it would. For a long while I thought some of the achievements from the Queen's Gauntlet counted. They don't.<br /><br />I surprised myself by getting all the way to Liadri, the last of the original Gauntlet bosses, in a single session. The Queen's Gauntlet, a series of timed, solo fights against increasingly tough or tricksy opponents, isn't really my kind of thing but it was fun to do once.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AC_sA_DmzfY/W3FcxyHazgI/AAAAAAAAUlI/EiRPsLZz0dEMnGcAA7q01j0NrrAkhRlhACLcBGAs/s1600/gw2fofw1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="715" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AC_sA_DmzfY/W3FcxyHazgI/AAAAAAAAUlI/EiRPsLZz0dEMnGcAA7q01j0NrrAkhRlhACLcBGAs/s400/gw2fofw1.jpg" width="373" /></a></div>What does count for the meta are the races, or at least most of them. Fortunately <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi7n46C8Gss"><span style="color: lime;">the all-but-impossible Griffin race</span></a> doesn't figure on the card although the ill-conceived Skimmer race does. The skimmer race isn't much fun. Skimmers all move at the same speed, slower than any other mount, so it's not much of a race. It's also never won by anyone on a Skimmer.&nbsp;<br /><br />Every race is won by people who jump off their skimmers in the final land section and mount up on raptors instead. Every race ends with a lot of angry skimmer riders calling raptor riders cheats. Luckily&nbsp; you don't need to win for the meta, just finish within two and a half minutes. You could probably walk the course in that time. If you could walk on water.<br /><br />The other two races are tougher all round. The mounted one at the end of Boss Blitz and the Dolyak race in Cliffs are both incredibly annoying and enormously entertaining at the same time. The former takes you through a lot of awkward terrain and a pile of hostile mobs; the latter turns you into a pig-sized dolyak and makes you use the original zephyrite crystals to control your movement.<br /><br />For the meta you have to complete each race in about half the maximum time allowed: two minutes for the mount race, two and a half minutes for the Dolyaks. That's tight. It took me a number of practice runs to work out a strategy and a number more to implement that strategy effectively.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iFjgjLokvtY/W3Fc6HoPJLI/AAAAAAAAUlM/T_940rX2K282zdt-ulFydGurD0YY126HACLcBGAs/s1600/gw2combine1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="798" data-original-width="1045" height="305" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iFjgjLokvtY/W3Fc6HoPJLI/AAAAAAAAUlM/T_940rX2K282zdt-ulFydGurD0YY126HACLcBGAs/s400/gw2combine1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Since the mount race starts only when a Boss Blitz has been successfully completed and the Dolyak race is every two hours, it took me several sessions to get them both done. The Dolyak race was about the last thing I needed.<br /><br />With that finally done I hit 25/25 and received my reward. It was better than I expected. The gloves have a very nice aura effect that is quite noticeable. An aura's not a hat or a cloak but it's not nothing.<br /><br />I thought it would be of interest to Mrs Bhagpuss. On my original advice she hadn't been bothering with the meta either. She wouldn't have been able to complete it in any case because she absolutely cannot ride mounts. She literally gets motion-sick just thinking about doing it.<br /><br />She had, however, already hit 19/25 on the meta meter, with just a few crystals, the races and one or two odds and ends to do. I finished those up for her yesterday afternoon, meaning we have now each&nbsp; completed the meta on one account.<br /><br />Ironically, when I read through the Dulfy guide <i>after </i>I'd finished, I found out you can "craft" the gloves anyway. By "craft" I mean there's a Mystic Forge combine for them. Since the meta gives you a stingy single armor weight of just one of the three designs, if you like them, you're likely to end up "crafting" several more anyway.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JnYny9Rnu20/W3FdBsARKNI/AAAAAAAAUlU/J1h07Gs3ViUCrVJxd8wyj9EjNVjoba7_ACLcBGAs/s1600/gw2bluesword3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JnYny9Rnu20/W3FdBsARKNI/AAAAAAAAUlU/J1h07Gs3ViUCrVJxd8wyj9EjNVjoba7_ACLcBGAs/s640/gw2bluesword3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Even so, had I been paying better attention three weeks ago, and had I understood sooner what was required, I might have finished the whole thing on more than one account. Nearly all of it was fun to do.<br /><br />Also, in retrospect, it would have made more sense to have done at least some of the events - and the dailies - on the other two accounts, especially the one that wasn't around the last time we had the chance to do all this. It's not a big deal because the items on sale aren't all that special but I do have a lot of them already on the account I was using to run the events this time.<br /><br />There were a few things I wanted. I didn't have the new Watchwork Mk II outfit. I have the original and I used to use it a lot. Now I have the new one. I'm not sure I can see the difference to be honest. And for some reason I never had a kite until now. Not sure how that happened. I bought two.<br /><br />Anyway, it's too late now. The Festival ends tomorrow. You live and learn. At least I had a ton of fun. And I hope and trust&nbsp; the Festival of the Four Winds is now established as an annual event. I'll be better prepared next year. <br /><br /><br /><br />Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-10272305754507442532018-08-12T09:05:00.001+01:002018-08-12T10:58:33.977+01:00No Means No. Except When It Doesn't.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2ANqmOZPOqo/W2_efjT37VI/AAAAAAAAUkA/OvAbTrukB_IJa-EXCUGcFzjSEIVm5ZrrACLcBGAs/s1600/cap1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="373" data-original-width="565" height="422" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2ANqmOZPOqo/W2_efjT37VI/AAAAAAAAUkA/OvAbTrukB_IJa-EXCUGcFzjSEIVm5ZrrACLcBGAs/s640/cap1.png" width="640" /></a></div>As someone once said (I think it might have been me) comments are the lifeblood of blogging. If you don't want feedback then there's not really too much point making your blog public in the first place.<br /><br />If you just want to keep a personal diary that no-one but you will ever see you can set your blog to be Private. Blogger and WordPress both allow that. Obviously, if you self-host you can do what you want. <br /><br />I'm sure it works because everything on the internet is totally private if you want it to be, right? And all the buttons you press do exactly what they say they do.<br /><br />Except they don't. I was reading the comments to <a href="https://tagn.wordpress.com/2018/08/11/blaugust-and-reading-blogs/"><span style="color: magenta;">Wilhelm's excellent post</span></a> on the various options available for reading blogs when I came across <a href="https://tagn.wordpress.com/2018/08/11/blaugust-and-reading-blogs/#comment-184318"><span style="color: magenta;">Pasduil's complaint about Blogger</span></a>:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: large;">"I’m afraid at the moment the work I have to do to enter a simple comment is so much that I generally don’t bother except for a few."</span></blockquote><br />This surprised me somewhat because I rarely have any trouble commenting on Blogger blogs. On the contrary, those are the ones where my comments tend to go through first time as soon as I hit "Publish". With WordPress blogs I have to sign into my WordPress account and then it's fine.<br /><br />The only blogs I really have difficulty with are ones that use Disqus and a few outliers that use unusual hosting platforms. In general, though, I don't find commenting too arduous.<br /><br />Of course, the one blog where I never have to jump through any hoops at all is my own. When I reply to comments Blogger knows it's my blog and gives me a free pass. So I thought I'd try commenting as someone Blogger doesn't recognize and see how that went.<br /><br />Oh, boy! I'm amazed I get any comments at all!<br /><br />I tried with Firefox, Chrome and Microsoft Edge, those being the three web browsers I have installed.<br />Firefox was the best by a long way. To comment anonymously all I had to do was click "I'm not a robot" once and the comment went through.<br /><br /><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_EifpN4NiPo/W2_mv2C2sXI/AAAAAAAAUkU/PikhAXiIeGIML7pf9Myd-y3HjzppiOSCgCLcBGAs/s1600/cap2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="344" data-original-width="536" height="410" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_EifpN4NiPo/W2_mv2C2sXI/AAAAAAAAUkU/PikhAXiIeGIML7pf9Myd-y3HjzppiOSCgCLcBGAs/s640/cap2.png" width="640" /></a><br />Second best was Microsoft Edge. Microsoft didn't believe me when I told them I wasn't a robot. I had to select a couple of images from the notorious Captcha system to prove my humanity. I passed that test first time and through the comment went.<br /><br />Dead last by a country mile and then some came Chrome. Commenting via Chrome was so irritating that I would have given up long before any of the comments went through.<br /><br />The problem was that Chrome didn't seem to accept any of my Captcha responses. It cycled through "new image" after "new image" until eventually it ran out and failed me. Then it picked another set of images and did it again.<br /><br />I tried as Anonymous, using a name and a URL, and I signed into another Google account. Those are the options you get. All of them were terrible. I did eventually get a comment to post using each of them but I wouldn't expect anyone in their right mind to bother.<br /><br />You'd think the takeaway from this would be "Don't use Chrome", which would be ironic enough, given that Chrome is Google's browser and Google own and operate Blogger, but it's worse than that.<br /><br />There's a setting in Blogger that allows the blog owner to choose whether their blog uses the Captcha system or not. It's called "Show Word Verification" and you can toggle it "Yes" or "No" in Settings. Guess what mine says?<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lMBjw_KEJEY/W2_mBPSjOZI/AAAAAAAAUkM/dIJVqvl5RAcQIFYTqvbQYEesYWtq1X0swCLcBGAs/s1600/blogno.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="57" data-original-width="350" height="104" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lMBjw_KEJEY/W2_mBPSjOZI/AAAAAAAAUkM/dIJVqvl5RAcQIFYTqvbQYEesYWtq1X0swCLcBGAs/s640/blogno.png" width="640" /></a></div>It's always said that. I have never intentionally had word verification on. But it's on.<br /><br />I fiddled with it, switched it off and on again a few times. Nothing. I googled the issue (ho ho) and didn't find much. It doesn't seem to be a widespread issue or perhaps no-one's noticed. After all, you won't see it if you own the blog and anyone who's having issues with it is by definition going to have trouble commenting to let you know.<br /><br />There doesn't seem to be a whole lot I can do about it other than to apologize to anyone who's having trouble commenting here. I've done everything I can to remove all the obstacles but if the buttons don't work hitting them harder isn't going to fix it.<br /><br />Based on my tests I would definitely recommend not using Chrome if you're experiencing Captcha issues. I'd be interested to know who has problems and who can comment with one click, although it's all a bit academic since there doesn't seem to be much more I can do to make it easier for anyone struggling to make themeselves heard.<br /><br />My Blaugust advice to bloggers is go try commenting on your own blog when you're not signed in. See how easy or otherwise it is. There may be things you can do to smooth the way. Your buttons might actually work.<br /><br />You never know - there might be a reason you're not getting comments and it might not have anything to do with what you're posting.Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-80268089026282545222018-08-11T20:07:00.002+01:002018-08-11T20:09:24.899+01:00I Wish It Could Be Blaugust Every Day... Oh, Wait...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N-Wyh_BdU08/W28v_xRjjxI/AAAAAAAAUjI/7TZsIy62biIhGi_F6d2bdJe2jhneWN8AQCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2chain1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N-Wyh_BdU08/W28v_xRjjxI/AAAAAAAAUjI/7TZsIy62biIhGi_F6d2bdJe2jhneWN8AQCLcBGAs/s640/gw2chain1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Well, we all knew it would come to this eventually. I'm astonished it took this long. Ten consecutive posts of arguable substance. I impress myself.<br /><br />But now it's Saturday night and I'm tired so here it comes... the screenshot post.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T7SZs3rhkWA/W28wFUtYqRI/AAAAAAAAUjM/ww0vENdyYEEArh_6pUDT4lgLZqyw4x8dQCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2green2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T7SZs3rhkWA/W28wFUtYqRI/AAAAAAAAUjM/ww0vENdyYEEArh_6pUDT4lgLZqyw4x8dQCLcBGAs/s640/gw2green2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>These shots are all from GW2's unexpected and incredibly welcome holiday event, <i>The Festival of the Four Winds</i>. This is my necromancer, who does most of the holiday work. She's green all over courtesy of an extremely sought-after and expensive little doo-dad she got last Halloween.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FJoAiYu39oE/W28w0XX-u6I/AAAAAAAAUjY/y7iGP7aKV24xFhF1-mXwytou9lcaCUI-QCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2hill1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FJoAiYu39oE/W28w0XX-u6I/AAAAAAAAUjY/y7iGP7aKV24xFhF1-mXwytou9lcaCUI-QCLcBGAs/s640/gw2hill1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Here she is, chatting to some nutcase who climbed the highest rock in Labyrinthine Cliffs for reasons he explains but which I've already forgotten. I remember it was something elegaic and mournful. Life is short, then you fall off a rock. Something like that?<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J0liXADbD6Y/W28xYCnmkVI/AAAAAAAAUjk/pTqSOXSlbWYtZ8rJ3nZbJKHsg0oGeStiwCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2chair1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J0liXADbD6Y/W28xYCnmkVI/AAAAAAAAUjk/pTqSOXSlbWYtZ8rJ3nZbJKHsg0oGeStiwCLcBGAs/s640/gw2chair1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>I have taken a few other characters there. This is one of my rare humans. Mostly she lives in Lion's Arch and does the "Activity" dailies when they come around. Humans get all the best poses and their armor fits better than anyone else's. I ought to play more humans. Maybe.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n40YCfJvA-0/W28x1jt8VlI/AAAAAAAAUjs/41Z_hDBwMzs7yy9aUB-HZ-0C4CCsyRDewCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2necbeach1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="1600" height="272" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n40YCfJvA-0/W28x1jt8VlI/AAAAAAAAUjs/41Z_hDBwMzs7yy9aUB-HZ-0C4CCsyRDewCLcBGAs/s640/gw2necbeach1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>There's a party beach in Labyrinthine Cliffs. It has a changing hut. If you go in the hut you can come out wearing a swimming costume. Sometimes there's music and all the sunbathers get up and dance. This is what we call "entertainment" in the 21st century.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oEOyZ1M21JM/W28yP92V0GI/AAAAAAAAUj0/2SgR6Ps-4jM4eTizMFaYGIRn87thGHkVwCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2witch1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oEOyZ1M21JM/W28yP92V0GI/AAAAAAAAUj0/2SgR6Ps-4jM4eTizMFaYGIRn87thGHkVwCLcBGAs/s640/gw2witch1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>I really love this map. I don't want it to go away. I don't want to have to wait a whole year to do this again. Holiday events are great but they should be all the time. That's your cue, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki5g0hA6dwI"><span style="color: lime;">Roy</span></a>.Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-36323269768443607702018-08-10T21:08:00.001+01:002018-08-10T21:12:48.681+01:00You're Talking A Lot But You're Not Saying Anything<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EXtRb13biDo/W23vpYnv_8I/AAAAAAAAUio/a6jCbxr5VhYMGsJsOk2D681BbSJF0YA4ACLcBGAs/s1600/eq2rd2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="1600" height="342" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EXtRb13biDo/W23vpYnv_8I/AAAAAAAAUio/a6jCbxr5VhYMGsJsOk2D681BbSJF0YA4ACLcBGAs/s640/eq2rd2.png" width="640" /></a></div>So, here's what Belghast proposed for the second week of Blaugust:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: large;">"August 8th – August 14th – <b>Get to Know Each Other Week</b> – hanging out and meeting other people in this new fledgling community and hopefully gaming together a bit!&nbsp; Also highly support doing some sort of collaboration on shared topics!"</span></blockquote><br />Several people have taken the plunge so far, including <a href="https://moonshinemansion.wordpress.com/2018/08/10/blaugust-get-to-know-each-other/"><span style="color: magenta;">Gracie</span></a>, <a href="https://armagon.wordpress.com/2018/08/09/my-gaming-history/"><span style="color: magenta;">Nogamara </span></a>and <a href="https://deezwurds.wordpress.com/2018/08/10/i-have-a-job/"><span style="color: magenta;">Marathal</span></a>. And, of course, Bel himself, who set the tone of self-revelation with a highly detailed and fascinating <a href="http://aggronaut.com/2018/08/08/jason-jessee-board/"><span style="color: magenta;">mini-memoir</span></a> that ends, somewhat paradoxically, with the claim that" <i>...getting any sort of coherent narrative out of me about myself is a challenge</i>".<br /><br />MMO blogs offer an interesting variant on the wider blogging phenomenon. "Blogging" as it's widely understood involves a large degree of personal exposure. Bloggers build their brands based on who they are, what they do, what they think and, in the case of vloggers (aka YouTubers), what they look and sound like.<br /><br />MMO bloggers, contrarily, post under pseudonyms, use cartoons as avatars, mention most aspects of their personal lives only obliquely and generally do their best to remain essentially unknowable. Is it any wonder none of us makes a living at it?<br /><br />Over the seven years I've been doing this I have made a habit of dropping (some would say shoehorning) certain facts about myself repeatedly into any number of posts. I was around forty years old when I discovered <i>EverQuest </i>in 1999 so I'm around sixty now. I work in a bookshop. I used to sing in a band (who didn't?). I was a major comics fan in the '80s.<br /><br />I often claim I'm not a "gamer" because I never really felt that was my tribe. I was always more into music, comics, books, movies and writing than playing games - any kind of games - although I was in a role-playing group that met every Sunday from about 1982 to 1987. And I've been playing video games since I first heard the distinctive thud of a Space Invaders machine across the crowded bar of a pub sometime around 1979 or 1980.<br /><br /><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f1faL7uPKso/W23vw9rsL8I/AAAAAAAAUis/a9TTDwrWX4kvNASsrqgyfou6C4kNBurMACLcBGAs/s1600/eq2rd1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="1600" height="342" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f1faL7uPKso/W23vw9rsL8I/AAAAAAAAUis/a9TTDwrWX4kvNASsrqgyfou6C4kNBurMACLcBGAs/s640/eq2rd1.png" width="640" /></a>I played arcade games in pubs all through college. I had an Atari 2600 and I bought a ZXSpectrum after I graduated and not only did I play the hell out of both of them, I even wrote some games myself. I also reviewed games for <i>MicroAdventurer </i>magazine a few times. They used to send the cassettes by mail. It was all very amateur back in those days, even when you were getting paid.<br /><br />After the Spectrum I had an Amiga for a while but after that I had nothing for longer. My wilderness years as far as gaming went. I was writing up a storm, though, for comics fanzines and in the apazine scene, which was the analog predecessor of blogging. I miss apas. I liked the physicality of all that cutting and pasting.<br /><br />Sometime around 1997 or so I bought my first PC with redundancy money that I got from staying in a job I didn't really like for about five years until they finally decided they didn't need me after all. I took a year off and used the computer to fail to write two novels, while successfully learning enough HTML to get a website up and running. It was all about my favorite ever band, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz3Ym3eOuD0"><span style="color: lime;"><i>Dolly Mixture</i></span></a>. I still have the code on floppy disc somewhere.<br /><br />I resolutely didn't play any games on that PC for almost a year. Then I cracked and bought <i>Broken Sword</i> and that was pretty much that. It might not have gone the way it did had I not immediately discovered that Mrs Bhagpuss, who'd never mentioned any interest in gaming that I can recall, was as keen as I was to lose herself in a fantasy world, which is how it's been for the last twenty years, give or take.<br /><br />I suppose, having done precious little other than play and write about video games for two decades I should finally admit that I am, at least in part, a gamer. It still doesn't sit quite right, though.<br /><br />Maybe in another twenty years...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-87616364507139036272018-08-09T22:03:00.001+01:002018-08-09T22:03:34.054+01:00What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love And Understanding? : GW2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iJEKqmOlsQw/W2ygnlyLaTI/AAAAAAAAUhg/ntcFXzX6mAgnTb5PhopThLEql6HApZL4ACLcBGAs/s1600/gw2xen2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="730" data-original-width="1600" height="290" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iJEKqmOlsQw/W2ygnlyLaTI/AAAAAAAAUhg/ntcFXzX6mAgnTb5PhopThLEql6HApZL4ACLcBGAs/s640/gw2xen2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Tuesday's patch brought a nice little extra to GW2. Apparently there was some kind of competition to design weapon skins and this week the winning entries were added to the game in the form of three new "collections".<br /><br />I saw it in the update notes on Tuesday but it wasn't until last night that I got around to checking whether Dulfy had a guide yet. <a href="http://dulfy.net/2018/08/07/gw2-design-a-weapon-contest-collections-guide/"><span style="color: magenta;">Of course she did</span></a>. She's Dulfy, isn't she?<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hc9vNX53UOI/W2yn6MU9HSI/AAAAAAAAUhs/oY-RnYe4xKIhqKr8pWdGeozsYBRZg4y4wCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2trask1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="495" data-original-width="385" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hc9vNX53UOI/W2yn6MU9HSI/AAAAAAAAUhs/oY-RnYe4xKIhqKr8pWdGeozsYBRZg4y4wCLcBGAs/s400/gw2trask1.jpg" width="310" /></a></div>The whole thing begins in Lion's Arch,. The first time you zone in you receive an in-game mail asking you to help with some crazed Asura's experiments. This sort of thing happens a lot. Apparently killing a couple of dragons and a god or two puts you on speed-dial with every mad scientist in Rata Sum, which is to say the entire population.<br /><br />First off you have to slap together some easy-to-find bits and bobs and throw them into the Mystic <strike>Toilet </strike>Forge, where Zamorros has nothing better to do than hammer them together and spit out the very thing you need - an Ectoplasm-Infused Vision Crystal.<br /><br />Consuming this lets you see ghosts. Like <i>that's</i> hard. Something that <i>stopped </i>you seeing ghosts would be more like it, especially in Ascalon. Anyway, I did it, then off I went to <i>Fields of Ruin</i>, where I spoke to a ghost called Xeniph.<br /><br />Because I'd needed to craft a Lesser Vision Crystal for the combine, and because to do that you need to be 500 skill in Leathercraft, Tailoring or Armorcrafting, I happened to be playing my Ranger. He's a max-level Weaponsmith and Leatherworker and also a Charr.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vc7cQf8YJnQ/W2ypWLdyrHI/AAAAAAAAUiQ/Rjiw1xDIhDUjCjv9E62sG8VGKhQe7q3iwCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2plu1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="184" data-original-width="557" height="210" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vc7cQf8YJnQ/W2ypWLdyrHI/AAAAAAAAUiQ/Rjiw1xDIhDUjCjv9E62sG8VGKhQe7q3iwCLcBGAs/s640/gw2plu1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Fields of Ruin, for those who don't play GW2, or who do and don't care to clutter up their brian cells with the convoluted lore and history of Tyria, is a flashpoint for ongoing tension between Charr and Humans. Ebonhawke, the city there, is frequently beset by bomb-throwing human separatists who reject Queen Jennah's treaty with the Charr Empire.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fou2Z_5TsyA/W2yoVsUaZ-I/AAAAAAAAUiA/PKtVHD5uvXEG8WLPlZjZrhH8xv4vqHrcgCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2xen1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="208" data-original-width="798" height="166" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fou2Z_5TsyA/W2yoVsUaZ-I/AAAAAAAAUiA/PKtVHD5uvXEG8WLPlZjZrhH8xv4vqHrcgCLcBGAs/s640/gw2xen1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />The conversation between Xeniph, who presumably died during the Charr-Human war, and my Charr ranger referred quite particularly not just to the historical context but to the fact that the dead human was now talking to a live Charr. I was somewhat taken aback by the intimacy but it was effective in drawing me into the narrative, something it did more successfully than the Living Story has managed these last few chapters.<br /><br /><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KLdg-b-nlsY/W2yn_t0wBFI/AAAAAAAAUhw/2bKY6fMtTFYIlOby20KU04zp6fNvvJLaQCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2bluesword1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="654" data-original-width="271" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KLdg-b-nlsY/W2yn_t0wBFI/AAAAAAAAUhw/2bKY6fMtTFYIlOby20KU04zp6fNvvJLaQCLcBGAs/s640/gw2bluesword1.jpg" width="264" /></a>It was intriguing enough that I'm curious to see how different the conversations are from a human perspective. And then probably an Asura, just for a control. Lucky I have three accounts. <br /><br />The collection itself didn't take very long. A lot of people were there doing it, including three people tagged up either as Commanders or Mentors. There were helpful instructions being called in map chat and a mesmer was porting to the only awkward location, a tower in the middle of the map's jumping puzzle.<br /><br />The whole thing took me maybe 45 minutes You could probably do it in half that. The final reward is <br />an Exotic Longsword with selectable stats. It looked like all the current stat options were available, which makes it very worthwhile for any Level 80 class that uses LS and hasn't got an Ascended version already.<br /><br />The skin itself is about par for the GW2 course. Ridiculously oversized, ornate to a fault and very glowy. It is a nice blue color, I'll give it that. I might use it on my Mesmer. It definitely looks more suited to a caster than a melee.<br /><br />The other two weapons are a one-hand sword and a torch. I'll be getting those as well. These short collections are fun and the dialog for this one was interesting. The torch skin is quite peculiar, too. I might use it on a necro.<br /><br />Once again the amuse-bouche proves more satisfying than the main course.Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-27909336458681550262018-08-08T15:45:00.001+01:002018-08-08T15:45:30.870+01:00Fabled And Storied : EQ2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lveGR-rijgo/W2rveH4vEdI/AAAAAAAAUg8/RdQylKVoEqg3XXli_h684pohzui5gZ19QCLcBGAs/s1600/eq2rtg3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="1600" height="342" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lveGR-rijgo/W2rveH4vEdI/AAAAAAAAUg8/RdQylKVoEqg3XXli_h684pohzui5gZ19QCLcBGAs/s640/eq2rtg3.png" width="640" /></a></div>On paper there's nothing much to <i>EQ2</i>'s new <a href="https://bhagpuss.blogspot.com/2018/08/return-to-guk-for-yet-another-time-once.html"><span style="color: magenta;"><i>Return to Guk</i></span></a> update. It's just a few old dungeons amped up to give current max levels a fight. It could be seen as a lazy option or an indication that resources at DBG are flatlining.<br /><br />Luckily we're not playing on paper. On screen it's excellent. I've ventured twice into <i>The Halls of the Fallen</i> and once into <i>The Lower Corridors</i> so far and my adventures have been both entertaining and rewarding, which is about as much you can ask from any content in an MMORPG.<br /><br />SOE came up with the idea of upgrading existing dungeons to "Fabled" status some years back. If I remember correctly the orcish stronghold <i>Clefts of Rujark</i> was the first to get the pink wash. Since then there have been many additions but, as I discovered when I came to write this post, it's not as easy as it should be to find out what they are.<br /><br /><a href="http://endgameviable.com/i-wish-eq2-would-explain-more-blaugust-6/"><span style="color: magenta;">UltrViolet </span></a>has a good point when he complains "<i>they sure don’t make much of effort to accommodate new or returning players</i>". It's true. They don't make much of a fist of explaining things to people who play regularly, either.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J-0YjhUVO3U/W2r9A0-rZqI/AAAAAAAAUhI/FB7u-xpjuH4mLYeIMxvHW9svh8wAHwiNwCLcBGAs/s1600/eq2rtg2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="1600" height="342" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J-0YjhUVO3U/W2r9A0-rZqI/AAAAAAAAUhI/FB7u-xpjuH4mLYeIMxvHW9svh8wAHwiNwCLcBGAs/s640/eq2rtg2.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is me fighting two giant hands with mouths in the palms. Don't have nightmares.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />I don't think the EQ2 devs are particularly bad in this regard. Very few MMORPGs do a good job of providing detailed and comprehensive guidance in-game. Usually that slack is taken up by third-party websites like <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/"><span style="color: magenta;"><i>Wowhead </i></span></a>or <a href="http://dulfy.net/"><span style="color: magenta;"><i>Dulfy</i></span></a> and developers correctly assume players with questions will know where to look.<br /><br />For older, less popular MMOs external resourcces can be thinner on the ground but EQ2 has several, including the excellent and well-maintained wiki at&nbsp; <a href="http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/EverQuest_2_Wiki:Main_Page"><span style="color: magenta;"><i>EQ2i</i></span></a>, <a href="http://eq2library.com/"><span style="color: magenta;"><i>EQ2 Library</i></span></a> and <a href="http://www.eqinterface.com/"><span style="color: magenta;"><i>EQInterface</i></span></a>. None of which has a straightforward listing for Fabled Dungeons.<br /><br /><i>EQ2Wire</i> may have closed its doors as a news site following Feldon's retirement but its offshoot <a href="https://u.eq2wire.com/"><i><span style="color: magenta;">EQ2U</span></i></a> is still going strong. They don't have a list of Fabled Dungeons either but they do have something potentially even more useful: a sortable, searchable list of <a href="https://u.eq2wire.com/actloot/zone_list/"><span style="color: magenta;">loot drops by level</span></a>.<br /><br />Using that I found the following:<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Fabled Dungeons Suitable for Level 100 Characters</b></span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://u.eq2wire.com/actloot/zone/609/0/true/100/0/">The Fabled Acadechism [Advanced Solo]</a></div><div><a href="https://u.eq2wire.com/actloot/zone/606/0/true/100/0/">The Fabled Acadechism [Heroic]</a></div><div><a href="https://u.eq2wire.com/actloot/zone/779/0/true/100/0/">The Fabled Antechamber of Fate [Raid]</a></div><div><a href="https://u.eq2wire.com/actloot/zone/776/0/true/100/0/">The Fabled Cavern of the Crustaceans [Raid]</a></div><div><a href="https://u.eq2wire.com/actloot/zone/770/0/true/100/0/">The Fabled Chamber of Immortality</a></div><div><a href="https://u.eq2wire.com/actloot/zone/605/0/true/100/0/">The Fabled Court of Innovation [Advanced Solo]</a></div><div><a href="https://u.eq2wire.com/actloot/zone/608/0/true/100/0/">The Fabled Court of Innovation [Heroic]</a></div><div><a href="https://u.eq2wire.com/actloot/zone/610/0/true/100/0/">The Fabled Crypt of Valdoon [Advanced Solo]</a></div><div><a href="https://u.eq2wire.com/actloot/zone/607/0/true/100/0/">The Fabled Crypt of Valdoon [Heroic]</a></div><div><a href="https://u.eq2wire.com/actloot/zone/601/0/true/100/0/">The Fabled Freethinker Hideout [Challenge Raid]</a></div><div><a href="https://u.eq2wire.com/actloot/zone/611/0/true/100/0/">The Fabled Freethinker Hideout [Raid]</a></div><div><a href="https://u.eq2wire.com/actloot/zone/778/0/true/100/0/">The Fabled Nizara, City of the Nayad [Advanced Solo]</a></div><div><a href="https://u.eq2wire.com/actloot/zone/780/0/true/100/0/">The Fabled Nizara, City of the Nayad [Heroic]</a></div><div><a href="https://u.eq2wire.com/actloot/zone/771/0/true/100/0/">The Fabled Ruins of Varsoon</a></div><div><a href="https://u.eq2wire.com/actloot/zone/774/0/true/100/0/">The Fabled Sanctum of Fear</a></div><div><a href="https://u.eq2wire.com/actloot/zone/766/0/true/100/0/">The Fabled Temple of Cazic-Thule</a></div><div><a href="https://u.eq2wire.com/actloot/zone/777/0/true/100/0/">The Fabled Xux'laio's Roost [Raid]</a></div><div><a href="https://u.eq2wire.com/actloot/zone/973/0/true/100/0/">The Fabled Ykesha's Inner Stronghold [Raid]</a></div><div>&nbsp;</div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Fabled Dungeons Suitable for Level 110 Characters</b></span></div><div>&nbsp;</div><div><div><a href="https://u.eq2wire.com/actloot/zone/970/0/true/110/0/">The Fabled Ruins of Guk: Halls of the Fallen [Heroic]</a></div><div><a href="https://u.eq2wire.com/actloot/zone/971/0/true/110/0/">The Fabled Ruins of Guk: Halls of the Fallen [Solo]</a></div><div><a href="https://u.eq2wire.com/actloot/zone/976/0/true/110/0/">The Fabled Ruins of Guk: The Lower Corridors [Heroic]</a></div><div><a href="https://u.eq2wire.com/actloot/zone/972/0/true/110/0/">The Fabled Ruins of Guk: The Lower Corridors [Solo]</a></div><div><a href="https://u.eq2wire.com/actloot/zone/975/0/true/110/0/">The Fabled Ruins of Guk: Ykesha's Outer Stronghold [Heroic]</a></div><div><a href="https://u.eq2wire.com/actloot/zone/973/0/true/110/0/">The Fabled Ykesha's Inner Stronghold [Raid]</a></div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The next question has to be will the Level 100 dungeons be re-itemized for the new maximum level of 110? The whole point of Fabled Dungeons, after all, is to provide a new playground and looting opportunity for max levels. When most of the dungeons on the first list were enfabled the cap would have been lower than 100, so presumably they have been bumped up, possibly more than once.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>I'm guessing here but I'm hoping I'm right because the loot in the Solo Return to Guk dungeons I've seen so far is, for want of a better word, fabulous. It's all called "<a href="https://u.eq2wire.com/actloot/zone/972/0/true/100/0/"><span style="color: magenta;"><i>Storied</i></span></a>" and it's Level 110, which means every drop is an upgrade for any of my max levels.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>The best loot I've been getting from <i>Planes of Prophecy</i> solo content, including solo dungeons, has been Level 105. I have a suspicion some 110 stuff might drop in the Public Quests (the only 110 I got prior to Return to Guk was in the <a href="https://bhagpuss.blogspot.com/2018/08/moral-equivalence-eq2.html"><span style="color: magenta;"><i>Tinkerfest </i>PQ</span></a>) but I haven't been doing many of those because of the way they've been implemented this time around. They happen mostly by appointment, on a timer, in an instance, rather than unpredictably in open world zones like the previous PQs The extra effort of negotiating that mechanic has tended to put me off just enough that I've passed on most when they get called in chat.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5qXuSRaxFW0/W2r9TZNCHGI/AAAAAAAAUhQ/2jNQQzVfkywwgevbNCyr_0ZLOImsWCqfwCLcBGAs/s1600/eq2rtg1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="1600" height="342" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5qXuSRaxFW0/W2r9TZNCHGI/AAAAAAAAUhQ/2jNQQzVfkywwgevbNCyr_0ZLOImsWCqfwCLcBGAs/s640/eq2rtg1.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doesn't this just sum EQ2 up, though? A rat in sunglasses fighting a minotaur dual-wielding daggers while an over-sized kitten in a Christmas hat looks on. Also you'll notice I'm using an anchor as a weapon. And people don't take the game seriously...</td></tr></tbody></table><div>&nbsp;</div><div>It's also my opinion that, while the newer dungeons are visually more polished and complex, the older ones are more straightforward, which suits me better. I do like to Tank&amp;Spank. I've been very happy bashing frogs in the corridors and halls of Guk, even if the excessive knockbacks do mean I spend most of my time jammed in a corner.</div><div><br /></div><div>So far I've killed the first three bosses in Halls of the Fallen twice and the first four in Lower Corridors once. I was camped at the fourth boss in Halls but my instance timer expired before I could log back in again.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>I've upgraded both rings, one wrist and one ear. I'm not sure if the bosses drop the same thing every time (twice is not a meaningful sample) but even if they do I can happily farm them a few more times for my three other max levels. It's a shame I don't have a leather class at cap because the only non-jewellery drops I've had so far have been for leather-wearers.</div><div><br /></div><div>Generally I don't enjoy farming repeatable dungeon content for drops but in this case I'm having a fine old time. It's amazing how just knowing you're sure to get some really good upgrades makes you&nbsp; want to go another round instead of throwing in the towel. It's also so much more satisfying, lifting the items out of a big metal chest, than it would be to collect tokens to spend on the same items at a vendor.</div><div><br /></div><div>I wish a few other devs would take this route once in a while.</div></div>Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-76532590684761683802018-08-07T12:50:00.001+01:002018-08-07T17:32:41.405+01:00Ourselves The Elves<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v6w2v2g4e-k/W2mKRfAqZWI/AAAAAAAAUgY/UojXxBC16HYML5awLUCZi0wTUOv2AAo4ACLcBGAs/s1600/gw2sq1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="1319" height="318" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v6w2v2g4e-k/W2mKRfAqZWI/AAAAAAAAUgY/UojXxBC16HYML5awLUCZi0wTUOv2AAo4ACLcBGAs/s640/gw2sq1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Psychochild has <a href="http://psychochild.org/?p=1492"><span style="color: magenta;">a post</span></a> up about the perennial topic (I won't say "problem") of Roleplaying in MMORPGs. Over the years, RP has become a niche within a niche but if you drift back far enough in time it was once baseline behavior for the genre.<br /><br />In 1999-2003, when I was playing <i>EverQuest </i>(on and off) pick-up groups were the norm. I met countless players, some of whom became online friends, some of whom I never saw again. In virtually every group someone, often several people would roleplay. Or rather, they would do something that we all thought of as "roleplaying" back then but which these days comes much closer to what I referred to in my recent "<a href="https://bhagpuss.blogspot.com/2018/08/conversation-starters-for-all-occasions.html"><span style="color: magenta;">Conversation Starters</span></a>" post as "<i>character play</i>".<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nLYiLE-9aVQ/W2mDMwYqY0I/AAAAAAAAUfE/1TDO5W8t9gwsOrPyomOYjj8R5rYgQswxACLcBGAs/s1600/gw2jt2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="1600" height="214" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nLYiLE-9aVQ/W2mDMwYqY0I/AAAAAAAAUfE/1TDO5W8t9gwsOrPyomOYjj8R5rYgQswxACLcBGAs/s640/gw2jt2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not if Scarlet sees you first, you won't.</td></tr></tbody></table>The difference between what I'm calling character play (I'm not sure if its a term anyone else uses) and the practice generally known as roleplay nowadays is mostly - but not entirely - one of degree. Modern-day roleplay tends to be very serious business indeed. As Brian says in his piece, the current understanding is that "<i>RP is basically shared storytelling</i>". People get as deeply involved as actors do in their craft and we all know just how seriously actors take acting.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bHMpWEB-6ds/W2mDe87VVGI/AAAAAAAAUfQ/yyh8FpFPvIkp6XstXB8morPJB_kvMCciwCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2ptla1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="923" data-original-width="408" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bHMpWEB-6ds/W2mDe87VVGI/AAAAAAAAUfQ/yyh8FpFPvIkp6XstXB8morPJB_kvMCciwCLcBGAs/s640/gw2ptla1.jpg" width="282" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In-game racial abuse - weirdly okay.</td></tr></tbody></table>Then there's the emotional commitment. "<i>RP sometimes makes us feel vulnerable because it can expose emotions we often keep to ourselves.</i>" says Brian. There's a reason why many non-roleplayers go beyond finding roleplaying not to their taste to feeling actively threatened by it. The reason is fear of intimacy. <br /><br />This is not the case with character play and it was rarely the case with what many players called "roleplay" in the early days of MMOs. While there absolutely were cadres of serious roleplayers back then, including whole RP guilds and cross-guild RP organizations who treated the virtual worlds of <i>EQ </i>or <i>UO </i>as backdrops for their collectively-constructed dramas, they were not the mainstream. Not even close.<br /><br />Mainstream roleplaying in the dawn of MMORPGs was tawkin liek dis if you woz a troll or usin' a vera bad Scotch accent fer yer dwarrven clerrric. It was standing aloof and making sarcastic comments if you were playing a dark elf or handing out muffins to everyone in the party if you were a <strike>hobbit</strike> halfling.<br /><br />In the lengthy downtime between pulls and set-ups, conversation ranged from what gear you were wearing to the latest sports news. There was no hard boundary between ooc and in-character chat. People dipped in and out of both all the time.<br /><br />What's more, many people would stay in character while discussing out of character subjects. In EverQuest at that time people playing Trolls and Ogres would often not break character at all. You could be recovering from a bad pull at Back Door in the Sarnak Fort in <i>Lake of Ill Omen</i> and the Troll SK might say "<i>gunna be afk a minnit. Dam cat skratchin at de door agen</i>".<br /><br />There were players I knew quite well at that time who I literally never heard speaking normal English. I was never that consistent myself when I played EQ but when I moved to<i> Vanguard </i>my Raki Disciple developed a particular speech pattern almost immediately and never deviated from it until the game closed down.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2LDMWHyV8kA/W2mDncGga8I/AAAAAAAAUfU/ydkbV4NBfUwA0x7VnmVBhCSRerxXV8GPACLcBGAs/s1600/gw2convo1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="156" data-original-width="374" height="166" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2LDMWHyV8kA/W2mDncGga8I/AAAAAAAAUfU/ydkbV4NBfUwA0x7VnmVBhCSRerxXV8GPACLcBGAs/s400/gw2convo1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Names changed to protect the infantile.</td></tr></tbody></table>Vanguard was, I think, the first MMO that Mrs Bhagpuss and I played mainly as a duo. We'd duoed <br />many times in other games but we'd also soloed a lot, been in the same and in separate guilds, had shared and separate circles of friends - the whole range. In Vanguard we started together and never really got to know many other people.<br /><br />That was probably how we came to develop the kind of character play between ourselves that we've carried on in some form ever since. It consists largely of playing our characters as though they were various stripes of siblings or childhood friends (or more often frenemies).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CaqXqK17Uuc/W2nJjIg4LzI/AAAAAAAAUgk/5rxHi8oJalApcgE_mLszqb5gQmN7C7bZACLcBGAs/s1600/gw2norngirl1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="505" data-original-width="1253" height="256" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CaqXqK17Uuc/W2nJjIg4LzI/AAAAAAAAUgk/5rxHi8oJalApcgE_mLszqb5gQmN7C7bZACLcBGAs/s640/gw2norngirl1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's actually worse when you can see what they're talking about.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />There's a lot of jibing and taunting, frequently based around shared experiences and knowledge of each others (imagined, in game) habits and personality quirks. We tend to play small races as though they are the age their height makes them appear, while taller characters tend to be po-faced, long-suffering adults.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QRmfzhob2-w/W2mEogKhUAI/AAAAAAAAUfs/M2n1UFK88a4-Ld3qMVFiBfqfHxv036JtACLcBGAs/s1600/gw2stumpy1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="857" data-original-width="546" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QRmfzhob2-w/W2mEogKhUAI/AAAAAAAAUfs/M2n1UFK88a4-Ld3qMVFiBfqfHxv036JtACLcBGAs/s400/gw2stumpy1.jpg" width="253" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Size matters.</td></tr></tbody></table>Over time a huge range of in-jokes accrue, some of which get carried over from one character to another or even one game to another. Not infrequently we stay in these character roles even when we are talking in game about something outside the gameworld.<br /><br />I don't much like formal roleplay. I've tried it and I've watched a good deal. Mostly it seems to be artificial, forced and awkward. I find the conventions of using emotes spelled out in text with some signifier in front excruciatingly arch. The predeliction many roleplayers have for talking about their characters in the third person or the passive voice is about as unimmersive as it's possible to get.<br /><br />I've also had a number of unfortunate experiences with aggressive RPers demanding compliance with their self-imposed standards in open-world areas and in non-roleplaying groups. I was once pursued for much of a Sunday morning by a Hobbit in <i>LotRO </i>who insisted it was my obligation to help him level for RP reasons which he articulated with increasing vigor and anger when I told him I had other plans.<br /><br />Part of his argument was that, since I had rolled a character on a designated RP server, my characters were required to behave at all times in a certain manner, one which, in this instance, seemed to have far less to do with RP and a lot more to do with him not being able to find a group. My response was to quit LotRO altogether and go back to EQ2, where people generally let you use the bank without badgering you to take them adventuring.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_cF2m4KrUZQ/W2mE-dQz0CI/AAAAAAAAUf4/En7AmLHDoBsleUL3csNlIh0FFlkGRSOOwCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2ettin1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1488" height="290" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_cF2m4KrUZQ/W2mE-dQz0CI/AAAAAAAAUf4/En7AmLHDoBsleUL3csNlIh0FFlkGRSOOwCLcBGAs/s640/gw2ettin1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even the adults in the room...</td></tr></tbody></table><span id="goog_550158742"></span><span id="goog_550158743"></span><br />All of this puts me in a somewhat ambiguous position. I have major reservations about roleplay in MMORPGs and my experiences with the more serious end of the hobby over the years have mostly tended to reinforce rather than remove those reservations. On the other hand I absolutely love character play and really regret the extent to which it has slipped into obscurity.<br /><br />I'd love to hear Asuran player-characters talking like brash, self-agrandizing little "geniuses" or Charr gruffly cursing and calling each other out over their supposed legionary affiliations. My game experience would be considerably enhanced if players remembered which of their characters were Priory or Order of Whispers and dropped a few comments accordingly now and again.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fKFD3mWWrag/W2mFJ3vgt9I/AAAAAAAAUgA/QyVFwtN8lB4ld6J8lE7HxArI9kd_XhjxACLcBGAs/s1600/gw2men1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="955" height="290" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fKFD3mWWrag/W2mFJ3vgt9I/AAAAAAAAUgA/QyVFwtN8lB4ld6J8lE7HxArI9kd_XhjxACLcBGAs/s640/gw2men1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's all about getting the voice right...</td></tr></tbody></table><br />It's not that it never happens any more. I see it occasionally. It stands out as the exception, though, where once it was so familiar I wouldn't have noticed.<br /><br />You don't know what you've got til it's gone as Joni Mitchell used to say. Then again, she was obviously a High Elf, so no-one would have paid her the slightest attention anyway...<br /><br /><br /><br />Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-76062759918297830172018-08-06T19:36:00.001+01:002018-08-06T19:36:47.399+01:00All We'll Keep<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0Cu0Jnrlswk/W2iInnUY_rI/AAAAAAAAUec/puAGHEt7-ZMN01Xmw-pbkcErF4tGqhFbgCLcBGAs/s1600/eq2bags2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="328" data-original-width="672" height="312" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0Cu0Jnrlswk/W2iInnUY_rI/AAAAAAAAUec/puAGHEt7-ZMN01Xmw-pbkcErF4tGqhFbgCLcBGAs/s640/eq2bags2.png" width="640" /></a></div>This blog is called <i>Inventory Full</i> for a reason. <a href="https://bhagpuss.blogspot.com/2011/08/my-stuff-weighs-ton.html"><span style="color: magenta;">My first proper post</span></a>, seven years ago, was me talking about bags, banks and storage. I had some crazy idea back then that I was going to make inventory issues in MMOs my theme and purpose here.<br /><br />Well, that never happened. Even I couldn't write over 1200 posts about bags. (Or <i>could </i>I...? No, I couldn't). Nevertheless, inventory in MMORPGs remains a perennial subject of interest and concern, not least because it's both unavoidable and inevitable.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KP18bN8-rd4/W2iItHqa9eI/AAAAAAAAUeg/-Ab5E8uyS3ECa8XuBw_AFit34uJl8vegwCLcBGAs/s1600/eq2bag1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="760" data-original-width="182" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KP18bN8-rd4/W2iItHqa9eI/AAAAAAAAUeg/-Ab5E8uyS3ECa8XuBw_AFit34uJl8vegwCLcBGAs/s640/eq2bag1.png" width="152" /></a></div>Every MMO I've ever played uses some form of notional space in which imaginary objects are represented, most usually as icons, occasionally as lines of text. In some games there are very clear and defined limits to the number of things you and your characters are able to store. In others there seems to be literally no end to it.<br /><br />The art and science of storage in MMOs is often referred to as "Inventory Management", which makes it sound every bit as boring as many people believe it to be. Most MMO players would probably agree, if grudgingly, that there has to be some human involvement with the endless flow of goods and trinkets although there are those who argue the entire process should be both automated and invisible.<br /><br />Those extreme minimalists are unlikely ever to get their way. Inventory and storage perform much too important a function in almost all MMOs for the entire process to be eliminated. In many gameworlds, inventory space is a well-established upgrade path like gear and levels. Bags and boxes often mark the baseline for crafting and <a href="https://nomadicgamerseh.com/2018/08/05/august-sales-day-2/"><span style="color: magenta;">act as a staple</span></a> in the crafted economy.<br /><br />Extra storage space and special, oversized or unique boxes feature frequently as sweeteners in Deluxe or Collectors Editions. Many free-to-play MMOs lean heavily on inventory space as a driver for cash shop sales and games with an optional subscription hold out enhanced storage options as a carrot to persuade people to subscribe.<br /><br />It's no use wishing inventory management away. It's not going anywhere. It's safe to say that although other options could undoubtedly be designed, the familiar practice of putting things in boxes is unlikely to go away any time soon. Or probably ever.<br /><br />That leaves the question of how to handle it with the tools we have. Inventory management is a skill but, unlike fishing or one-hand blunt it's not normally a skill you can increment by use or talent points (although I have a vague memory of playing some MMO where exactly that did happen). Perhaps it should happen more often. I rather like the idea of training up a skill and getting more inventory space, sort functions, tags and so on.<br /><br />As things stand, in almost all MMOs managing your inventory comes down to either a real-lfe flair for organization or having the kind of personality that doesn't balk at the thought of spending significant chunks of your leisure time doing imaginary housework. Some people are tidy, some people learn tidiness; most people just have a lot of stuff thrust upon them.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4ICC_djzMo8/W2iI0FEckdI/AAAAAAAAUek/mKz4Lfl5choJbGsNNofZh4AxgdR2omkngCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2bank2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="584" height="634" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4ICC_djzMo8/W2iI0FEckdI/AAAAAAAAUek/mKz4Lfl5choJbGsNNofZh4AxgdR2omkngCLcBGAs/s640/gw2bank2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mrs Bhagpuss and I share a Guild Bank in GW2. This is her vault.</td></tr></tbody></table>Then there are people like me who not only enjoy managing their inventories but see it as core gameplay. It's not going too far to say that inventory management was one of the things that drew me into the MMO genre from the get-go. If I was to make a list of my top ten reasons for playing MMORPGs (hey, another Blaugust topic!) inventory management would make the top five.<br /><br />I find it involving, enjoyable, relaxing and satisfying but that doesn't mean I'm any good at it. Like most things in MMO gameplay I muddle along in my own inefficient fashion as best I can without ever making much of a dent in the activity I'm undertaking.<br /><br />My banks are a mess and my characters inventories are chaotic. I frequently create systems for storing stuff so I can get at it handily, spend hours getting those systems set up and running, then promptly forget to maintain them and let entropy do its awful work.<br /><br />I rarely know where anything is unless I use it every day. I make lists in notebooks and then lose them. I label boxes in game and then forget how to read the labels. In any MMO I play regularly I have so many characters and so many storage options I'd need a spreadsheet to keep track of it all - and the day I create a spreadsheet for a video game is the day I take my computer down to the nearest river and throw it in.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KWhr-etT8tg/W2iJAZU5YTI/AAAAAAAAUew/ayo8rcd1V6A-qDqL-dWgOSOayLM8o_3SwCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2bank3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="586" data-original-width="586" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KWhr-etT8tg/W2iJAZU5YTI/AAAAAAAAUew/ayo8rcd1V6A-qDqL-dWgOSOayLM8o_3SwCLcBGAs/s640/gw2bank3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And this is mine.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><a href="https://whyigame.wordpress.com/2018/08/05/gw2-inventory-woes/"><span style="color: magenta;">Jeromai</span></a>, <a href="https://starandshadow.wordpress.com/2018/08/05/inventory-full-and-bank-and-crates/"><span style="color: magenta;">Starshadow</span></a> and <a href="http://www.princessinacastle.com/guild-wars-2/guild-wars-2-inventory-full/"><span style="color: magenta;">Endalia</span></a> all have something to say on the topic but Jeromai is hoping for some practical advice and I'm not sure I have much to offer.<br /><br />One tip I would give, which I'm absolutely sure will immediately be labeled as heresy by some, is never to take any option the game offers you to convert all your small bags into one big one. That's fine for organized people but if you're already having problems, removing the visual link between the individual bags in your inventory and the contents of those bags will make those problems worse.<br /><br />Many MMOs have different kinds of bags that auto-sort different things into them as you loot them. You can also sometimes re-name your bags with a descriptive title like "<i>Bag for Twinking</i>" or "<i>My Dressing Up Box</i>". Sometimes you can color-code bags or tell them apart by their icons. All of this helps and all of that help is lost if you munge the whole damn lot into one mega-bag.<br /><br />Anyway, as I say, I'n hardly the best person to be giving advice on this topic. It's like asking a compulsive hoarder to give you pointers on feng shuing your appartment. I'm opening the floor to anyone who thinks they can help Jeromai declutter because my personal solution is always <i>buy more boxes!</i><br /><br />That said, I am going to think on this some more and post on it again. There's something to look forward to!<i> </i>Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-24715348536604603152018-08-05T19:43:00.000+01:002018-08-05T22:46:31.425+01:00He's Good-Bad But He's Not Evil<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u81BTcGqCTs/W2dDMuU2b1I/AAAAAAAAUd0/lR-QRXGvZd0CbmEEiOesxuQg0LNV5E6ogCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2gbe1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u81BTcGqCTs/W2dDMuU2b1I/AAAAAAAAUd0/lR-QRXGvZd0CbmEEiOesxuQg0LNV5E6ogCLcBGAs/s640/gw2gbe1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>A few days ago, <a href="http://athernesadventures.blogspot.com/2018/08/whats-your-alignment.html"><span style="color: magenta;">Atherne</span></a> was the latest to bring up the ever-popular topic of <i>D&amp;D</i> alignments, linking a couple of tests, one from <a href="http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd%2Fdnd%2F20001222b"><span style="color: magenta;">the rights-holders themselves</span></a> and one from <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/awesomer/whats-your-alignment?"><span style="color: magenta;">Buzzfeed</span></a>. <br /><br />It's always fun doing those. I tend to come out fairly consistently as either Neutral, Chaotic Neutral or Chaotic Good. It depends a lot on how game-oriented the tests are. The further away from the ruleset the questions travel, the more good or chaotic I tend to become.<br /><br />Questions that stick very tightly to the concept of role-playing games, as the <i>Wizards of the Coast</i> ones do, tend to be flat, emotionless and arid so it's hardly surprising they draw a more neutral, less involved response. I much preferred the Buzzfeed test, whose questions felt much more human and immediate.<br /><br />The results varied quite significantly. <i>WOTC </i>judged me to be True Neutral, which I feel reflects my lack of emotional involvement with their static, abstract scenarios rather than telling you much about me. Buzzfeed rated me Chaotic Good, exactly where I'd like to see myself, so naturally I favor their methodology.<br /><br />This kind of labelling underpins most MMORPGs. I've been choosing between "good" and "evil" ever since I made my first character in <i>EverQuest, </i>a wood-elf ranger who died, minutes later, falling, from the treetop walkways of Kelethin, city of a thousand elf and safety puns.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CWKoX0D8xPc/W2dEGEVmVUI/AAAAAAAAUeA/M0V0wt31m0wERTUAxOWFkvFK_uNnnNYDgCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2gbe2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CWKoX0D8xPc/W2dEGEVmVUI/AAAAAAAAUeA/M0V0wt31m0wERTUAxOWFkvFK_uNnnNYDgCLcBGAs/s640/gw2gbe2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Very few MMOs go much further than that simple binary and even then it rarely means what it says. For most, "evil" means something like "moody emo goth" while "good" means "football captain and homecoming queen" (probably not the same person, although it <i>is </i>2018...).<br /><br />The <a href="https://massivelyop.com/2018/08/04/bare-shoulders-mark-a-spreading-world-of-warcraft-protest/"><span style="color: magenta;">ongoing moral panic</span></a> over the pre-<i>Battle for Azeroth</i> trailers and cinematics over at <i>World of Warcraft</i> has also turned something of a spotlight on alignment, with many Horde players waking up to the fact that they've been Evil all these years and never knew it. <a href="https://marcleoseguin.com/2018/08/03/poor-saurfang/"><span style="color: magenta;">Reactions</span></a> have been...<a href="https://biobreak.wordpress.com/2018/08/03/good-times/"><span style="color: magenta;">variable</span></a>.<br /><br />It occured to me, reading the comment thread at <i>Massively:OP</i> (rarely a good idea) that maybe what we need are some new alignments. Or, I should say, some new names for the old ones. Human nature doesn't change but language and culture does.<br /><br />I tried to think of things players born long (<i>long</i>) after Gary Gygax might recognize and free-associate with and I took five minutes to come up with the list below. It's a weighty topic. It deserved that degree of in-depth analysis. This is what I've got:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Lawful Good = Control Freak</b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Neutral Good = Neurotypical</b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Chaotic Good = SJW</b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Lawful Neutral = Normie</b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>(True) Neutral = Chilled</b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Chaotic Neutral = Edgy</b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Lawful Evil = Asshat</b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Neutral Evil = Cold</b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Chaotic Evil = Psycho</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you think you can do better, the comments are down there. Or maybe&nbsp; you'd like to use this as a springboard for a Blaugust topic. Don't thank me, thank Atherne. She started it!</span><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Author's note. Yes, I <i>have </i>used that title before but it was in 2011 and no-one remembers, ok?</span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-90858135376711160782018-08-04T10:14:00.001+01:002018-08-04T10:14:07.519+01:00Conversation Starters For All Occasions. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o5Z49hpRdUw/W2VrqUBvqrI/AAAAAAAAUdU/Pu4oxjU5m0INqZNY1XpN47SP4xsdoFWfwCLcBGAs/s1600/eq2feather1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="716" data-original-width="1600" height="286" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o5Z49hpRdUw/W2VrqUBvqrI/AAAAAAAAUdU/Pu4oxjU5m0INqZNY1XpN47SP4xsdoFWfwCLcBGAs/s640/eq2feather1.png" width="640" /></a></div><i> </i>As I mentioned yesterday, this week's Blaugust theme is "<i>Ideas for topics that the participants can then mine for the rest of the month</i>". I have some. No, don't thank me. Seriously, don't thank me. You haven't read them yet...<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Hats, cloaks or shoulderpads?</b></span><br /><br />Which does the best job of making your character stand out from the crowd? Which looks the most stylish and which the most ridiculous? Do shoulderpads the size of small castles break immersion? Is that thing on fire? Does a feather in your hat make you cool (yes it does and you're crazy for even asking).<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>My character, myself. </b></span><br /><br />Character play - what even <i>is </i>it? Did you just make that up? How's that any different from roleplay? Are your characters you or are they them? If they're them, are they real? What does "real" mean, anyway? Is it normal for heroes to talk like toddlers? Just sayin', bro. No offence. What does "normal" mean, anyway? Why be happy when you can be normal? Why be normal when you can be happy? Why be yourself when you can be your elf? <br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Act your age, not your level.</span></b><br /><br />Do you grow into your MMOs or grow out of them? How old were you when you started playing? Did the age you were make a difference to how immersed or invested you became? How has that changed as you've aged? (You have aged, right? You're not some kind of <i>elf</i>, are you?).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pKbHfFpmIRw/W2Vs6WqGoEI/AAAAAAAAUdg/Zn7l32JrM18_BmWbvdqML35LRNyAQ192QCLcBGAs/s1600/eq2clutter1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1323" height="370" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pKbHfFpmIRw/W2Vs6WqGoEI/AAAAAAAAUdg/Zn7l32JrM18_BmWbvdqML35LRNyAQ192QCLcBGAs/s640/eq2clutter1.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Inventory management - curse or blessing?</span></b><br /><br />Local or global? Manual or automatic? Bags or boxes? How high is a stack?&nbsp; How come some developers go to 10,000 while others think ten's plenty? Why do video games even <i>have </i>stack sizes in the first place? Which MMO has the best banks? Should bank doors be big enough to admit horses? Dragons? Is that safe? Is that a safe? Is it always better to craft your own storage bins or is it okay to get one off the rack? If you could do a post on Inventory Management every day and twice on Sundays (and some of us could, naming no names) - should you?<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>It's the Economy. Stupid?</b></span><br /><br />Do MMOs need economies? Do MMOs need economists? Are you rich? Do you want to be? Were you ever? Is broker-sniping PvP? Why are some goblins obsessed with money but others just love snot? If you can buy everything in the cash shop with in-game currency does your game even have a cash shop? How are those guys staying in business, anyway?<br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Jump! Everybody jump!</span></b><br /><br />Does it drive you nuts when your character can kill a dragon but can't step over a knee-high wall? Is it legit to climb over things you aren't supposed to climb over just because you have a space bar? Who can do a five-foot standing jump? In plate armor? Does breaking out of maps break immersion or is being under the world underrated? How high can you climb? Can you see my house from up there? Did you remember to take a picture?<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wwpHsK6tnHs/W2VtN24i5mI/AAAAAAAAUdo/sExNpEeVVHIWZewiBux9hzYxBT0swue2ACLcBGAs/s1600/wowmoon1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wwpHsK6tnHs/W2VtN24i5mI/AAAAAAAAUdo/sExNpEeVVHIWZewiBux9hzYxBT0swue2ACLcBGAs/s640/wowmoon1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Next Big Thing</span></b><br /><br />Does this genre have a future? A roadmap? When's the next one coming? How long have we been waiting here? Who's driving this thing, anyway? If Blizzard is <a href="https://massivelyop.com/2018/08/03/activision-blizzard-sees-revenue-jump-massive-engagement-even-without-big-releases/"><span style="color: magenta;">more profitable now than ever</span></a> is <i>WoW </i>really dying? How long has WoW been dying? Didn't WoW die already? People still <i>play </i>that thing? What happened to all those WoW-killers? Didn't anyone remember clones have short lives? Did no-one watch <i>Blade Runner</i>? Weren't those replicants, not clones? Where are all the WoW replicants, now, eh? Eh??<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Blognation! Under one groove!</b></span><br /><br />Whither blogging? Who says "whither" these days? If blogging is so over how come the YA bookshelves are full of books with characters who blog? Why do all those characters aspire to a publishing contract? Does that say more about the writers, the publishing industry or blogging itself? If no-one blogs any more why do kids keep coming up to me and asking where the books by bloggers are? Is it because of all those characters in the books they read who blog and have publishing contracts? Or is it because they can't pronounce "vlogger", which is what they actually mean? If vlogger is a real word why does Blogger's own spellchecker not recognize it? Professional jealousy? Could Blogger be... alive???<br /><br />&nbsp;<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Blog That Ate Itself</span></b><br /><br />How many times can you recycle your own content before it gets so thin your readers can see right through it? Do you still have readers? Do you want any? Do readers matter? Who am I writing this thing for? *tap* *tap* Is this thing on?<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span>I know I've made some very poor decisions recently, but I can give you my complete assurance that my work will be back to normal. I've still got the greatest enthusiasm and confidence in the mission. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0r-XhL6mAg"><span style="color: lime;">And I want to help you</span></a>. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-66789371547711348172018-08-03T20:48:00.001+01:002018-08-03T21:06:56.870+01:00Return To Guk For Yet Another Time Once More Again... : EQ2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9T5ObRP5THc/W2Swv4313HI/AAAAAAAAUcw/p6eCXQsi-kYRhL9StS_SmEL7EGWH2p5MgCLcBGAs/s1600/eq2guknew1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="785" data-original-width="1600" height="312" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9T5ObRP5THc/W2Swv4313HI/AAAAAAAAUcw/p6eCXQsi-kYRhL9StS_SmEL7EGWH2p5MgCLcBGAs/s640/eq2guknew1.png" width="640" /></a></div>The start of this year's Blaugust fell slightly awkwardly for me. Usually I post on days when I'm not working. Sometimes I'll post in the evening after work, if I've got the following day off . Occasionally, if there's a breaking news story I want to <strike>leech off</strike> talk about, I might post on a work night but mostly I go quiet midweek.<br /><br />This first of August was a Wednesday. Most months I only get one Wednesday off and this wasn't one of them. In fact, this week had me working Tuesday through Friday, which is about as inconvenient as it could have been, given I was supposed to be posting every day.<br /><br />Fortunately, although the days were bad, I had a bit of luck with the hours. Mostly I tend to start work latish, around ten, but someone was on holiday and I got his shift for the week, which meant starting at 8.30 a.m.. That gave me an uninterrupted five hours or so after I'd come home and had my tea .<br /><br />Even then, time was tight. Three accounts doing <i>GW2 </i>dailies (including Krait) and one account also doing the dailies for <i>Festival of the Four Winds</i> does tend to eat up a fair amount of your evening. Not to mention the weather's been beautiful and Mrs Bhagpuss and I like to go for a walk around sunset.<br /><br />Also this <i>would </i>have to be the week <i>EQ2</i>'s <i>Tinkerfest </i>ended, wouldn't it? I wish I'd been more organized and done everything gnomish back in July. Maybe I should have made <a href="http://endgameviable.com/gaming-goals-arent-fun-for-me-blaugust-2/"><span style="color: magenta;">a schedule</span></a>...<br /><br />And as if that wasn't enough, Tuesday just had to be the day <i>Daybreak </i>decided to drop a really interesting update for EQ2. <i>Return to Guk</i> came somewhat out of the blue for me but the moment I saw there were Fabled versions of <i>Halls of the Fallen</i> and <i>Lower Corridors</i> you could solo I was right <i>there</i>!<br /><br />Well, sort of. A bit. What with all those dailies and holiday events and blog posts, there's been precious little time to spare for dungeoneering.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9_T7xMg0q2I/W2Sw-yxfkxI/AAAAAAAAUc4/_7Cdk5ajNKE8SiYVFOE59OyDgEBaU6s0QCLcBGAs/s1600/eq2guknew2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="629" data-original-width="1600" height="249" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9_T7xMg0q2I/W2Sw-yxfkxI/AAAAAAAAUc4/_7Cdk5ajNKE8SiYVFOE59OyDgEBaU6s0QCLcBGAs/s640/eq2guknew2.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />On Tuesday night I managed to find the way in to the new instances&nbsp; -&nbsp; a portal in <i>Plane of Magic</i>, just outside the <i>Halls of Valor</i>. It seems that DBG plan on developing that small island into some kind of one-stop shop for current content. The portal to the new <i>Plane of Hate</i> is there and of course the HoV instance itself is the gateway for all content in the last expansion. I'm not seeing the lore logic behind it, but as a pragmatic way of getting everyone where they need to be it's a major improvement on both <i>Terrors of Thalumbra </i>and <i>Kunark Ascending</i>, both of which were over-concerned with lore to the detriment of convenience.<br /><br />Tuesday, I just poked around the first few rooms to see how manageable it was. Fabled Dungeons can be tough. They're meant to be.<br /><br />The new solo method (very tough mobs, huge buff on player) seemed to be working nicely. I was AEing multiple groups of orange con triple-up frogs with no great risk to life or limb. Took a while but it was pitched about right.<br /><br />Curiosity temporarily sated, I logged out and didn't come back until Thursday. Personal instances last for three days so I zoned into the same one and ran through a few empty rooms until I bumped into a bunch of frogloks...who died. Instantly. So fast I hadn't even had time to attack them - my Mercenary, defending me, had killed them all before I even realized they were there.<br /><br />This happened several more times. I tried to pull orange-con Heroic mobs and they died when the first arrow hit them. Clearly something was wrong. I considered dropping the instance and restarting - it seemed like I might be exploiting if I carried on but in the end I thought, oh well, it's only one instance, lets see how it goes.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--hUhpo0zWNY/W2Sw1r3paCI/AAAAAAAAUc0/ahFw1NBp67Q-jo4O814WJjnxae1q3Uq3gCLcBGAs/s1600/eq2guknew3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="658" data-original-width="591" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--hUhpo0zWNY/W2Sw1r3paCI/AAAAAAAAUc0/ahFw1NBp67Q-jo4O814WJjnxae1q3Uq3gCLcBGAs/s400/eq2guknew3.png" width="358" /></a></div>The first Named (as we call Bosses in Norrath) died in about two hits. He dropped me a major upgrade. As I moved to the next Named, however, I was ganged by a bunch of frogs who seemed to have eaten their spinach. They were properly tough, as they had been on the opening night.<br /><br />I dispatched them and pulled the second Named. He seemed to have about a gazillion hit points. He also summoned plenty of tough adds. I ran flat out of power when he was just under half health. For once, I remembered I could pop a power potion, so I did. It just about lasted me 'til he dropped.<br /><br />It seemed like a fair fight and I got another very nice upgrade off him. So far, so profitable.<br /><br />It was getting too late to try for the third Named but I went a little further and lo and behold some more tissue-paper frogs tried their luck and died in one round of AEs. I'm guessing I have a bugged instance - bugged in my favor - but it will have expired by... well, right about now in fact. One short run when you're not really sure what's going on doesn't point to "Exploit" on my moral compass so I'll be keeping the goodies. <br /><br />I have tomorrow free so I should be able to experiment some more and also blog about it. Or about something else. If I happen to have thought of something else, that is.<br /><br />This post is partly by way of being a practical example of this week's Blaugust theme: "<i>Posts about ideas for topics that the participants can then mine for the rest of the month</i>." Frankly, I could probably mine this one update to EQ2 for a month if I had to. I've basically had three posts out of it already this week and I've barely even done anything. I'm not saying it would be pretty...<br /><br />As you can see, when I don't have anything in mind and no time to write about it even if I did, I just start writing about what I've been doing and let whatever happens happen.<br /><br />It's <i>not </i>pretty but it works.<br /><br /><br />Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-71073884407944583262018-08-01T19:15:00.001+01:002018-08-02T07:44:06.184+01:00Moral Equivalence: EQ2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rApumO9jxy4/W2HyiGg036I/AAAAAAAAUbs/w3zYwbTdxMMOGQEZdgXSSKweszNku3TbACLcBGAs/s1600/eq2tpq1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="819" data-original-width="1600" height="326" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rApumO9jxy4/W2HyiGg036I/AAAAAAAAUbs/w3zYwbTdxMMOGQEZdgXSSKweszNku3TbACLcBGAs/s640/eq2tpq1.png" width="640" /></a></div>Yesterday I did the Tinkerfest Public Quest on my Inquisitor. I wasn't planning to, she just happened to be in the zone when it popped and it's fun so she did it. And <a href="http://eq2.wikia.com/wiki/Automated_Targeting_Eye_(Level_110)"><span style="color: magenta;">this </span></a>dropped.<br /><br />It's a huge, <i>huge </i>upgrade for her.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sz09077tt4I/W2HzXDYyU-I/AAAAAAAAUb4/_rpmmZd7YIseI4LIwiuT7Lb7mndEBoVxACLcBGAs/s1600/eq2mono2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="302" data-original-width="744" height="258" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sz09077tt4I/W2HzXDYyU-I/AAAAAAAAUb4/_rpmmZd7YIseI4LIwiuT7Lb7mndEBoVxACLcBGAs/s640/eq2mono2.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Also, it looks fantastic and it's totally her style.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OHJ1qslQAX4/W2Hz0M6eGsI/AAAAAAAAUcM/DxkvA1cOoGASsuLerEg8Dtbztg_FMyIgQCLcBGAs/s1600/eq2monor.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="761" data-original-width="229" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OHJ1qslQAX4/W2Hz0M6eGsI/AAAAAAAAUcM/DxkvA1cOoGASsuLerEg8Dtbztg_FMyIgQCLcBGAs/s320/eq2monor.png" width="96" /></a><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qhEhMLLYoCI/W2Hzjqfbj2I/AAAAAAAAUcA/cpQtacdTbVUTQjfIGy2y3Go_RsX1DBdYACLcBGAs/s1600/eq2monol.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="291" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qhEhMLLYoCI/W2Hzjqfbj2I/AAAAAAAAUcA/cpQtacdTbVUTQjfIGy2y3Go_RsX1DBdYACLcBGAs/s320/eq2monol.png" width="123" /></a><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jNFe6d4LuNI/W2HzoWLQRFI/AAAAAAAAUcI/j7rVY4kcvZE9wD9QnvmRETDOr9MkDyoygCLcBGAs/s1600/eq2monoc.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="354" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jNFe6d4LuNI/W2HzoWLQRFI/AAAAAAAAUcI/j7rVY4kcvZE9wD9QnvmRETDOr9MkDyoygCLcBGAs/s320/eq2monoc.png" width="151" /></a></div><br /><br />In case it's not clear, the little red dot is the headpiece.<br /><br />It would also be a very significant upgrade for my Berserker, who is my main character in <i>EQ2</i>. Yes, I think I do have to admit I have a main, in this one game, at this particular time.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NOT6H1iCDEo/W2H1JKXQAoI/AAAAAAAAUcc/NMujMruyz9cNFgeXxxefPMS8GEXCZVjhACLcBGAs/s1600/eq2mono1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="748" height="232" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NOT6H1iCDEo/W2H1JKXQAoI/AAAAAAAAUcc/NMujMruyz9cNFgeXxxefPMS8GEXCZVjhACLcBGAs/s640/eq2mono1.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what he's currently wearing. And I only just realized it's cloth.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />What's more, he's been doing that PQ himself, on and off, when he remembers, hoping to get an upgrade (not necessarily that one, there are other possible drops) but so far he's had no luck.<br /><br />Tinkerfest ends today. I don't really have the time to try for it again and even if I did the chances of it dropping are vanishingly small.<br /><br />And here's my dilemma: is it ethical to take the Automated Targeting Eye away from the character who got it and give it to the character who needs it? Who am I to make that decision?<br /><br />At the moment the Berserker has it in his bags but he hasn't equipped it. (He had to borrow it to take the comparison screenshot. Well, that's his story). He also has this amazing robot rhino (although it's my Warlock riding it in the picture).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SteHNzwi5u8/W2H19G0tCmI/AAAAAAAAUck/1HkLfAby3b4yGDn9JxOWJk5VjHlGl_ZlwCLcBGAs/s1600/eq2clockrhino1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="834" data-original-width="1251" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SteHNzwi5u8/W2H19G0tCmI/AAAAAAAAUck/1HkLfAby3b4yGDn9JxOWJk5VjHlGl_ZlwCLcBGAs/s640/eq2clockrhino1.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />The Berserker just bought the rhino with 300 shiny tinkerfest cogs he got by sending his pack pony out gathering. It's a fantastic-looking mount but it's a ground mount only. Is that a fair trade?<br /><br />No, of course it's not. It <i>is </i>a heck of a mount, though.<br /><br />Going to have to think on it. Perhaps the Inquisitor will just decide to be magnanimous. She is a gnome of the cloth after all, even if she does wear plate. And smite people a lot.<br /><br />Or maybe the Berserker will get lucky in Fabled Guk. I hear there are some great drops there.<br /><br />We'll work something out. We're a team, after all.Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-88315563955926000712018-08-01T07:36:00.000+01:002018-08-01T07:36:44.261+01:00Ancient News : EQ2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-odB4fOaN9kY/W2DGX9DJ_FI/AAAAAAAAUbU/NfQT3lGcv5ElbDE4X5h4KvOzlcdXwMHSACLcBGAs/s1600/blaug2018.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="768" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-odB4fOaN9kY/W2DGX9DJ_FI/AAAAAAAAUbU/NfQT3lGcv5ElbDE4X5h4KvOzlcdXwMHSACLcBGAs/s640/blaug2018.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Today is the start of Blaugust which means, among other things, a flurry of very short posts. There's no way I'm going to get one of my regular thousand-word epics up every single day for a month.<br /><br />Of course, <a href="http://aggronaut.com/2018/07/09/blaugust-reborn/"><span style="color: magenta;">the rules</span></a> are much more lax this year. I don't <i>have </i>to post every day. But I'm going to try .<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nGBcS32arSQ/W2DFrbF9cNI/AAAAAAAAUa8/lMewzVxnX1YUUh9YTUq5bfyP71b9yPycQCLcBGAs/s1600/eq2guk1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="308" data-original-width="306" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nGBcS32arSQ/W2DFrbF9cNI/AAAAAAAAUa8/lMewzVxnX1YUUh9YTUq5bfyP71b9yPycQCLcBGAs/s1600/eq2guk1.png" /></a></div>It may mean a lot more news posts. Maybe some screenshot specials. The air may get a little thin at times. <br /><br />Fortunately this August is shaping up to be extremely busy in MMOdom. The return of the <i>Festival of the Four Winds</i> in <i>GW2 </i>was an early sighting of what I am guessing will be a whole flotilla of spoiler attempts by various developers, aiming to head off the mass defections that always accompany an imminent <i>World of Warcraft</i> expansion.<br /><br />Daybreak have gone for both a major <a href="https://www.everquest2.com/news/eq2-gu-107-announce-july-2017"><span style="color: magenta;">Game Update</span></a> and a long weekend of bonuses. I'm about to go look at the solo version of the new <i>Fabled Dungeons of Guk</i> as soon as I finish this but before I do that, here's a public service announcement, which I cribbed from the utterly essential<span style="color: magenta;"><i>&nbsp;</i></span><i><a href="http://eq2.eqtraders.com/articles/news_page.php">EQ2 Traders Corner</a></i>:<br /><br /><blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cAwyIoVB41Q/W2DF2AeRXLI/AAAAAAAAUbI/ZSRaAq5y0k0dsMKdSCo6QyhxZUz-QHoyQCLcBGAs/s1600/eq2guk2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="543" data-original-width="334" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cAwyIoVB41Q/W2DF2AeRXLI/AAAAAAAAUbI/ZSRaAq5y0k0dsMKdSCo6QyhxZUz-QHoyQCLcBGAs/s400/eq2guk2.png" width="245" /></a></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: large;">From 12:01 AM PT on Tuesday, July 31, 2018 until 11:59 PM PT on Monday, August 6, 2018, members throughout Norrath will receive both double status and double currency!</span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-size: large;">Plus, on live servers, all players will also earn double Planar Ethereal coins! If you're playing on a TLE server, you'll earn twice as many Hunter's Coins! Paired with the aforementioned double currency bonus, this means that members' Ethereal and Hunter's coin earnings will QUADRUPLE! This is the perfect time to work through that second wave of Ethereals!</span></blockquote></blockquote><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MP87-DmLPWQ/W2DFxVJzyUI/AAAAAAAAUbQ/4EsGhXKDGrIc8FFx5mtSeeMQWAD9kBfeACEwYBhgL/s1600/eq2guk3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="550" data-original-width="337" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MP87-DmLPWQ/W2DFxVJzyUI/AAAAAAAAUbQ/4EsGhXKDGrIc8FFx5mtSeeMQWAD9kBfeACEwYBhgL/s320/eq2guk3.png" width="196" /></a> Double status is always a big deal in Norrath. I just happen to have the <a href="http://bhagpuss.blogspot.com/2016/06/everyone-needs-good-guide-once-in-while.html"><span style="color: magenta;">Nebulous Newsies</span></a> quests waiting on several characters for just such an opportunity, so that's my weekend sorted.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.everquest2.com/news/eq2-members-ancient-spell-promo-august-2018"><span style="color: magenta;">What's more</span></a>, <b><span style="font-size: large;">any and every Level 110 character that logs in between now and August 14th gets a free Ancient ability scroll. </span></b>That's also big thing, trust me.<br /><br />There is a slight drawback. You have to have the spell or combat ability already in your book at Grandmaster level before you can use the scroll to upgrade it. Even my best-geared character, the Berserker, doesn't have any Grandmaster abilities between level 101 and 110 yet. The rest are lucky if they even have any at Expert.<br /><br />He does have one at Master though and it's his absolute favorite. It's <i>Bloodbath IX</i>, the one where he spins around and does huge damage to everything around him in a 360 degree circle (as if there's any other kind).<br /><br /><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SGNI_Tio4oE/W2DFksCajGI/AAAAAAAAUbE/7juC5ZiNCDwdXMUhgCYPNZ9DEe-sH_c2QCEwYBhgL/s1600/eq2guk5.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="738" height="275" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SGNI_Tio4oE/W2DFksCajGI/AAAAAAAAUbE/7juC5ZiNCDwdXMUhgCYPNZ9DEe-sH_c2QCEwYBhgL/s400/eq2guk5.png" width="400" /></a>To upgrade that will take 55 days using the auto-upgrade system. It sounds like a long time but it's just a background training mechanic. The time soon passes. It means that he'll have his best (well, he loves it...) AE at Ancient by the time the next expansion arrives. Which is kind of exciting.<br /><br />I have another 110 and a 109 who will be 110 well before August 10th but it's going to be a good old while before either of them can use the free Ancient. One day, though...<br /><br />If you have a max level character or one that could get there before the tenth of August, don't miss out on this great deal. Free is the best price you're going to get!<br /><br />(And I promise all the posts won't be as ugly as this one. All that red and black... reminds me of a GeoCities page from the 90s...).<br /><br /><br /><br />Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-11256922701329642262018-07-30T10:56:00.001+01:002018-07-30T11:17:57.785+01:00How Do You Write A Blog Post? You Just Write A Blog Post.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V5Ne7KfJM-s/W17GINrOlEI/AAAAAAAAUZ8/S2gudHUOYPogy5HepttnonDzc3-OGK7yQCLcBGAs/s1600/blaug2018.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="768" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V5Ne7KfJM-s/W17GINrOlEI/AAAAAAAAUZ8/S2gudHUOYPogy5HepttnonDzc3-OGK7yQCLcBGAs/s640/blaug2018.png" width="640" /></a></div>Syp has <a href="https://biobreak.wordpress.com/2018/07/25/blaugust-2018-the-preppers-guide-to-blogging-survival/"><span style="color: magenta;">an excellent post</span></a> up about preparing for Blaugust and maintaining an active blogging presence longer-term. He says<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: large;">"Probably the most difficult and challenging aspect of blogging is keeping the posts coming. It’s a constant, ongoing event, unless you don’t care about building up an audience and want a once-in-a-blue-moon post frequency. Everyone gets excited about writing at first, but consistently churning out posts requires discipline, effort, routine, and — pertinent to this article — strategy".</span></blockquote>He goes on to give some really good, solid advice on how you can maximize your output while minimizing your stress levels. If you're the kind of blogger who worries about deadlines, topics or schedules then I highly recommend you read Syp's Tips (hey, that could be a column title!).<br /><br />But what if you aren't that kind of blogger? Or that kind of person. What if you're the kind whose skin begins to itch at the very thought of opening a spreadsheet or marking a date on a calendar? What if you run on a combination of overexcitement and underpreparation and like it that way?<br /><br />Let me introduce you to Seat Of The Pants blogging. Hmm, "seat of the pants"; that's a weird phrase, isn't it? We all know what it means but where does it come from? Let's ask <a href="https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/115013/etymology-of-seat-of-the-pants"><span style="color: magenta;">Dr. Google</span></a>.<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="comment-copy">“When my senses tell me one thing and the little dials on the instrument board tell me another, usually the dials are right. … Next to the instruments, probably the pilot’s safest guide to the position of his ship is the seat of his pants.”</span></span> </blockquote><br />Okay, that was interesting. It was also an example of how SotP blogging works. It's also known as "winging it", which I just bet derives somehow from the aviation industry too, although I'm not going to look that one up.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k6W6OP6sYXU/W17f7d_MVUI/AAAAAAAAUaI/ricYbmx5sfQIO4Zjn0f6DV9qM8Vdt_wxACLcBGAs/s1600/eq2blog3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="925" data-original-width="1600" height="368" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k6W6OP6sYXU/W17f7d_MVUI/AAAAAAAAUaI/ricYbmx5sfQIO4Zjn0f6DV9qM8Vdt_wxACLcBGAs/s640/eq2blog3.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Strategy</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Here's how I prepare for a blog post. Mostly I do them in the morning, so first I have to wake up. Then I switch on my PC and leave it to grumble while I go have breakfast. In a while I come back with a mug of tea, sit down and go through my email, Feedly and my own blog roll, in that order.<br /><br />Sometimes I have an idea for a post already. It was probably something that happened while I was playing yesterday, or maybe a piece I read that stuck in my mind. I might have vaguely thought about writing about it at the time and now that I'm looking at a blank screen it's popped back into my mind.<br /><br />Absent that ( I love that phrase - it's so unecessarily faux-technical) it's more than likely that something I've just read in Feedly or my blog roll will act as a spur for a post. One of the very best things about blogging is that it's a conversation. Think of it as a very long-form <i>Twitter</i>.<br /><br />On the subject of comments, as well as being a blogger I'm also an inveterate commenter. I was commenting on blogs long before I started a blog of my own. Indeed, as I've said in the past (and never be afraid to repeat yourself - there's another blogging tip) it was when I realized I was routinely dropping comments that were longer than the blog posts I was commenting on that I decided I ought to get my own blog.<br /><br />I one hundred percent recommend and advise any reader to comment, whether or not they also blog or plan on starting. Comments are the life-blood of blogs. Bloggers love comments and commenting leads to blogging. Do it!<br /><br />Getting back to the point at hand, as I try to remember what it was, a thing that happens to me quite often is this: I'l be sitting here reading through other peoples' blog posts prior to starting on my own and I'll read one that makes me want to stick my oar in (gosh, I'm all about the metaphorical cliches today, aren't I ?).<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wnxLTljop3U/W17gKqcyM5I/AAAAAAAAUaM/NCdRh-anZP0J6tXwWbD9MAjVplUlFaNLwCLcBGAs/s1600/eq2blog1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="1600" height="342" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wnxLTljop3U/W17gKqcyM5I/AAAAAAAAUaM/NCdRh-anZP0J6tXwWbD9MAjVplUlFaNLwCLcBGAs/s640/eq2blog1.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Planning</td></tr></tbody></table><br />I'll start commenting and within a few sentences it will occur to me that a) the comment is going to run long - most likely very long - and b) it would make a perfectly adequate blog post! At this point, out of blogging solidarity and politeness, I usually change the comment to something along the lines of "<i>Great post! I was going to comment but then I realized I ought to make it into a post over at my blog</i>".<br /><br />I'm not sure if that's what the blogger who sparked the thing off wants to hear but at least I said "Great post", right? Everyone likes to get comments that begin "Great post!". It never gets old, let me tell you!<br /><br />From there, I'm up and running. I just write the comment I would have written only even more fulsomely, find some arguably relevant screenshots and bingo! Post done!<br /><br />It takes bloody ages! Compared to a comment, anyway. A comment may be 1000 words long - some of mine certainly are - but I bang a comment out freeform, without revision or editing, and I usually don't even read it back once before hitting the button.<br /><br />The same comment, turned into a blog post, requires both revision and editing (the two most important parts of writing and publishing, respectively) but it also frequently requires research. I'll say anything off the top of my head in a comment but if I'm going to put it in a post I fact-check first. Always check your facts before committing to print.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rm7w9DWjQFU/W17gUxM95DI/AAAAAAAAUaU/v9epePsQZ9EN_h4F2w1ZxgGO1frMlf9pwCLcBGAs/s1600/eq2blog2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="1600" height="342" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rm7w9DWjQFU/W17gUxM95DI/AAAAAAAAUaU/v9epePsQZ9EN_h4F2w1ZxgGO1frMlf9pwCLcBGAs/s640/eq2blog2.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Preparation</td></tr></tbody></table><br />An ad hoc blog post at <i>Inventory Full</i> (which is about 90% of all of them) generally runs around 900 - 1500 words (very long) and takes me about two to four hours (waaaaay too long). Of the time taken, maybe 25% - 50% of it is the writing itself. The rest is revising, editing, fact-checking and illustrating. The pictures themselves often take the longest, especially if I have to log into a game and take them specially.<br /><br />But what if the blogosphere lets you down? What if no-one has said anything thought-provoking overnight? What if there's not a single news squib on your gaming news provider of choice that you give damn one about? What if there's no little niggle in the back of your mind, no annoying little wrinkle of gaming (this is assuming your blog is a gaming blog...) that just irks you so much you need to let everyone else know just how furshlugginer <i>annoying </i>it is? <br /><br />Screenshots! Screenshots, that's what! <br /><br />On a slack ideas day I open my screenshot folders and flip through them. Six years in, I have in excess of 12,000 screenshots of <i>GW2 </i>alone. I have hundreds and thousands of shots of all the games I've played, going back about a decade and a half. Before that, tragically, all is lost.<br /><br />With luck it will only take me a few minutes of folder-flipping before something strikes me. I generally try to avoid all-screenshot posts. Some bloggers absolutely excel at them - <a href="http://www.ectmmo.com/2018/07/summer-festivities.html"><span style="color: magenta;"><i>Kaozz </i></span></a>for one - but if I do a screenshot special I like to have a good reason.<br /><br />Whether you just like to post your snaps or need them to give you ideas, I recommend taking plenty. Screenshots will get you through times of no inspiration better than inspiration will get you through times of no screenshots. Or something. Not sure that works but let's keep going, maybe no-one will notice...<br /><br />For a gaming blogger, the other gift that never stops giving (does that even make sense? Geez, once you start to <i>think </i>about cliches they really begin to fall apart sometimes...) is gameplay. There are those who deny, denigrate or simply don't see the point of diary blogging (Hi, Gevlon!). Who wants to hear what quests you did yesterday or which boss you killed?<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4a6rvT8cEOk/W17gisEso_I/AAAAAAAAUac/UkwhYfN0_nYFgbtSm9HAZxCD4vyfRQUkACLcBGAs/s1600/eq2blog4.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="1600" height="342" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4a6rvT8cEOk/W17gisEso_I/AAAAAAAAUac/UkwhYfN0_nYFgbtSm9HAZxCD4vyfRQUkACLcBGAs/s640/eq2blog4.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Execution</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Well, lots of people, apparently. Or so it seems when the comments roll in. If you write <a href="https://tagn.wordpress.com/2018/07/28/keepstar-down-in-kinakka/"><span style="color: magenta;">entertainingly</span></a> on the topic of <i>What I did In My Games Yesterday</i>, lots of people will find it... entertaining! What's more, if you can manage to be <a href="https://whyigame.wordpress.com/2018/07/29/we-all-lift-together/"><span style="color: magenta;">insightful</span></a> about it too, other people with similar experiences may even find it instructive and educational.<br /><br />Enough. You get the idea. Planning ahead is absolutely fantastic and the exact right thing for them as likes it but there is another way. In fact, there are as many ways to blog as there are bloggers. If you're just starting out you probably don't know yet what's going to work for you. I certainly didn't.<br /><br />The trick - really the only trick - is to keep plugging away at it. Try it this way, try it that way, try it her way, try it my way. (Oh, the temptation to link...but, no...).<br /><br />I find blogging easy. I've been writing this sort of stuff since I was a punk in the late 70s. I wrote and published fanzines on music and comics, sent letters of comment to anyone that would print them, then ended up in the apazine scene for a decade and a half until gaming took me in the mid-90s.<br /><br />I realize it can be intimidating to commit but it's like diving into cold water. You just have to do it and once the shock fades you realize it's not cold at all. In fact, once you get used to it, it couldn't be warmer.<br /><br />Dive in and swim!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-33568350899824782112018-07-29T11:49:00.001+01:002018-07-29T11:52:28.532+01:00I, Me , Mine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eK8pqdzC1zY/W11-fMWJoCI/AAAAAAAAUZc/Y30eBzDEg4QrEu9Q4hHhS_g67x6s2xQJgCLcBGAs/s1600/blaug2018.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="768" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eK8pqdzC1zY/W11-fMWJoCI/AAAAAAAAUZc/Y30eBzDEg4QrEu9Q4hHhS_g67x6s2xQJgCLcBGAs/s640/blaug2018.png" width="640" /></a></div>By now, everyone reading this knows it's Blaugust. Okay, technically it's not Blaugust until Wednesday but this is Blaugust Prep Week, which might as well be Blaugust for Mentors, of which I am one.<br /><br />Belghast's plan was for everyone who threw their hat (mine's one of those elaborate affairs with a feather) into the mentor ring to come up with some sage advice that might help and encourage the less-experienced, more nervous or possibly completely unprepared among this year's Blaugust intake. <br /><br />There's been a plethora of posts already, all of which make some excellent points, but there are a couple I would particularly like to endorse, re-iterate and expand upon. This post is also a practical example of both the suggestions in question, so that's neat. There's probably a word for it. Autological recursion, that's the thing!<br /><br /><a href="https://tagn.wordpress.com/2018/07/26/a-blaugust-to-revive-blogging/"><span style="color: magenta;">Wilhelm</span></a>, who I would pick out as the blogger from whom I have personally learned the most over the years, says<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: large;">"<i>Don’t worry that somebody else has already posted about a topic if you want to write about it.</i>"</span></blockquote><br />Too right! If you sit there, crossing off topics that you feel have been done to death and trying to come up with something new that no-one has thought of before you will literally never post anything at all.<br /><br />If you do have some amazing insight previously unthought of in the annals of blogging, yay for you! They do exist. I read posts like that every so often and they're amazing. If I had to wait for one of those every time I wanted to read a blog, though, my Feedly would be nothing but tumbleweed for weeks at a time.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3Ay3KwgLuN4/W12YCy2u5cI/AAAAAAAAUZw/YGo1Dnu2PhIZYB0SY-QYxJ5RXkTYeZbEQCLcBGAs/s1600/eq2furgle1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="556" data-original-width="840" height="422" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3Ay3KwgLuN4/W12YCy2u5cI/AAAAAAAAUZw/YGo1Dnu2PhIZYB0SY-QYxJ5RXkTYeZbEQCLcBGAs/s640/eq2furgle1.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Furglebin</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />There are two great reasons to write a post about something everyone else has already written about (some of them twenty times over).&nbsp; <br /><ol><li> You're already thinking about it. That means you're interested in the topic, whatever it is. If you're interested in what you're writing about, your writing will be interesting. Or it could be. That's up to you. You can be as fresh about a stale topic as you can be stale about a fresh one.&nbsp; </li><br /><li> Your potential audience is already thinking about it - and out there actively <i>looking </i>for posts about it. There's a reason the same subjects come up over and over again - they're what matter to people. Plenty of those horses aren't really dead; they're just sleeping. The issues themselves have not been resolved. Just because everyone and their Aunt Ethel already had a thrash doesn't mean you can't get a few licks in as well. Get in there and see if you can't wake the darn thing up!</li></ol>What's more, if <i>you </i>haven't written about it before then everything you say about <i>is </i>going to be new. And even if you <i>have </i>written about it before, maybe your opinion has changed or you've learned something since the last time.<br /><br /><a href="https://aywren.com/2018/07/27/blogging-importance-of-voice-choosing-your-audience/"><span style="color: magenta;">Aywren</span></a>, one of the most articulate and insightful bloggers in this quadrant of the blogosphere, has something to add which dovetails perfectly with the point Wilhelm is making. She talks about the importance of finding both your voice and your audience. She says&nbsp; <br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: large;">"<i>...establishing your blogging voice and knowing who you’re writing for early on makes things <b>easier</b>".</i>&nbsp;</span></blockquote>It really does. Ironically, it can also be a lot harder than you might think. Some writers seem to be born with their own, unique, unmistakeable voice but most of us have to go through the same process as the video games we play.<br /><br />Your blog probably won't emerge full-blown, first post, in all the glory and splendor of mid-<i>WotLK</i> <i>WoW</i>.&nbsp; More likely you'll look back on your early efforts as some kind of pre-alpha. Here, take a look at <a href="https://bhagpuss.blogspot.com/2011/08/"><span style="color: magenta;">one of mine</span></a> from just under seven years ago.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fsle-wRSXqo/W12Xiu7ecNI/AAAAAAAAUZo/67GXkanQaSIrsaLx7uQqr47DZ6eT-b1QgCLcBGAs/s1600/eq2milo1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="163" data-original-width="400" height="260" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fsle-wRSXqo/W12Xiu7ecNI/AAAAAAAAUZo/67GXkanQaSIrsaLx7uQqr47DZ6eT-b1QgCLcBGAs/s640/eq2milo1.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Milo</td></tr></tbody></table><br />At that point I hadn't thought of starting every post with a picture and I hadn't discovered the trick that breaks Blogger's inbuilt width limits. I also thought small spot illustrations akin to those I used to use in apazines were cool and for some insane reason I thought it was a great idea to begin every post on MMORPGs with a link to a music video on YouTube.<br /><br />And none of those were <i>bad </i>ideas. I could have stuck with them all and maybe made them work. But they weren't my best ideas. They were stages in a process, stations on a journey. Blogging is iterative. Each post builds on the post before. Keep putting up those posts and your voice will emerge. Eventually.<br /><br />It's one of the things that throws some people off at the beginning, but don't despair. If you stick at it your voice <i>will </i>find you - and so will your audience. Keep writing, keep experimenting. Switch things up a little sometimes. Don't be afraid to try <a href="https://bhagpuss.blogspot.com/2012/01/furglebins-journal-3-eq2.html"><span style="color: magenta;">something different</span></a>.<br /><br />It won't always come off. Apparently I was the only one who appreciated Furglebin although <a href="https://bhagpuss.blogspot.com/2012/01/last-rat-standing-eq2.html"><span style="color: magenta;">Milo</span></a> struck a chord with some. I wonder what Milo and Furglebin are doing now...?<br /><br />One final thought . I ended up there linking to myself and talking about me. I can do that. This is my blog. I made it to entertain and amuse myself and seven years on that's still the main reason it exists. Your audience is important but never as important as <i>you</i>.<br /><br />We none of us in this corner of blogdom are doing this for a living. We may be doing it for fun, to meet a creative or emotional need, for attention, for self-improvement, for lack of a better idea but in the end, whatever the reasons, we are doing it <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_XI_290cfw"><span style="color: lime;">because we want to</span></a>.<br /><br />See how much I've learned in seven years? No, don't thank me, you're welcome!Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-17632842935297260182018-07-25T14:20:00.000+01:002018-07-25T17:45:26.568+01:00Pass The Cheese, Please<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lFTJwhSAw_Q/W1h0sRFRlkI/AAAAAAAAUYs/GegsGuDvN2EBWZdT1oVxDqRTjiokDabegCLcBGAs/s1600/wowhill1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lFTJwhSAw_Q/W1h0sRFRlkI/AAAAAAAAUYs/GegsGuDvN2EBWZdT1oVxDqRTjiokDabegCLcBGAs/s640/wowhill1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>UltrViolet is <a href="http://endgameviable.com/wow-questioning-my-belonging-in-mmorpgs/"><span style="color: magenta;">wondering</span></a> why he's not feeling the same buzz around WoW's upcoming expansion as everyone else. (Alright, not <a href="https://bhagpuss.blogspot.com/2018/07/bfa-fever-wow.html?showComment=1532421258700#c3573567971213789641"><span style="color: magenta;"><i>everyone</i></span></a>). In reply, Jeromai, another WoW refusenik, describes his own unconvincing introduction to the West's biggest-ever MMORPG: <br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: large;">"I’ve tried WoW, and it’s not for me either. The furthest I’ve gotten is soloing an undead hunter to 60 or so during the Cataclysm era. I’ve blanked out on most of the story/quests. I got speedrun by a friend through a dungeon via him outleveling it and gifted stuff (a faster way to kill my interest in the mode I cannot imagine, to realize that someone can solo cheese their way through something via incrementing numbers rather than through skill, ie. that gifted gear will be valueless in a few levels, so why bother to even group through it properly?)"</span></blockquote><br />I did get a bit further than that my first time through, although not much. I think I topped out in the early 70s, back in mid-<i>WotLK</i>, when the level cap was 80. It took me six months to get that far.<br /><br />I was playing WoW as my main MMO at that time and from memory I would probably have put in around 25-30 hours most weeks, which suggests leveling must have been a much slower process than it is today. Of course, I did play a lot of other characters and I recall doing an inordinate amount of PvP in Battlegrounds, which maybe didn't give leveling xp. I can't recall.<br /><br />At the time I knew no-one who was playing WoW, except Mrs Bhagpuss, who started at the same time I did. I knew <i>of </i>people who played but I wasn't blogging then so I didn't even have that shared experience to draw on. Consequently I didn't have the problem of over-zealous friends trying to give me an unwanted leg-up.<br /><br />It is something I've run into in other MMOs. It's something I've done myself. When you know and love a game and you see someone not quite getting it there can be a huge temptation to jump in and carry some of the weight, just to get them over the hump. Or maybe you think the real game begins at the end and everything that comes before is just an annoyance, to be disposed of as fast as possible. Or perhaps you just get a kick out of playing the all-knowing, all-powerful superhero. There are as many reasons to jump in and lead the way as there are players to be led.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SryqM3g-C9w/W1h0yNm7-0I/AAAAAAAAUYw/TDd2XXac3wkVzcay8OUnEihl8Bhw-LlTQCLcBGAs/s1600/wowair1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SryqM3g-C9w/W1h0yNm7-0I/AAAAAAAAUYw/TDd2XXac3wkVzcay8OUnEihl8Bhw-LlTQCLcBGAs/s640/wowair1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Always keep an eye on the horizon.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Sometimes it works but often it has the effect Jeromai describes. Instead of connecting someone with the game it alienates them from it. Even so, it always puzzles me when someone comes to the conclusion that because a higher-level, better geared, more experienced player can trivialize lower-level content that content is by definition trivial.<br /><br />This seems to me on a par with believing that because you can read the precis of the plot of a mystery novel on Wikipedia there's no point or purpose in reading the book. Yes, you could turn to the last page, solve the mystery and be done in a moment. You wouldn't, though.<br /><br />If you did, you'd not have read the book. You would have no feeling for the language, no understanding of the characters, no sense of the author's purpose. You'd have gained nothing, learned nothing and felt nothing. Oh, you'd know who did it. There's that.<br /><br />Anyone who reads mystery novels&nbsp; - any novel, really - <i>knows </i>they could turn to the end to see how it all turns out but they don't. Knowing doesn't void the experience of doing. The content is the content. This is similar to but different from the journey being its own reward.<br /><br />MMOS are all about the content. A traditional MMORPG is a portmanteau and a palimpsest. The leveling game hasn't been the be-all and end-all for a very long time. Story, plot, narrative, they form only a small part of what there is to do. You don't have to focus on any one aspect and you don't have to buy in to all the expectations. You can pick and choose.<br /><br />Even with that freedom of choice, in all MMORPGs with vertical progression, which is almost all of them, you have to accept impermanence. Yes, your Best-in-Slot weapon will be time-expired the day the new expansion drops. Yes, the Tier 1 armor set that took a month of grinding will serve as the bare minimum for your next month as you grind for T2. So what?<br /><br />That's the process. If it seems hollow then congratulations, you've seen through the trick. Magic happens because you choose to believe in magic not because magic's real.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_D2BVBqmKLM/W1h1RXpZ_0I/AAAAAAAAUZE/Koff9-4enVYxDXQB85iQaIc1USfTrY08wCLcBGAs/s1600/wowdark3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_D2BVBqmKLM/W1h1RXpZ_0I/AAAAAAAAUZE/Koff9-4enVYxDXQB85iQaIc1USfTrY08wCLcBGAs/s640/wowdark3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If we keep the lights low enough no-one will see the wires.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Some people like to know how magic tricks are done. For them, understanding the mechanics make the whole thing more fascinating, not less. For most, though, once a trick's explained, it's dead. Explain enough tricks and all of magic dies.<br /><br />Which is why you need to be careful and cautious when showing someone around the back of the set. If you reveal all the trapdoors and uncover all the mirrors there's nothing much left but dusty boards and flat canvas. At least let the newbie see the trick done properly, once.<br /><br />I love cheesing dungeons. I love outleveling content and sueprheroing through it. I love soloing bosses meant to challenge two dozen mighty heroes of yester-year. I love doing it because I did it the hard way the first time and now it's payback. Or because I never could, then, and now I can.<br /><br />Blizzard clearly understand that mindset. They are building it into the structure of their benchmark MMO. You can go back and cheese WoW's dungeons and Blizzard will make sure you get all the drops you would have gotten with friends, at level, back in the day.<br /><br />You did do those dungeons with friends, at level, back in the day, didn't you? <br /><br />Even when I played WoW a decade ago, when my highest level characters were in the fifties or sixties, I went back and soloed <i>The Deadmines</i> for fun. Because I could. Because it was profitable and because it was satisfying. It might only have been a few weeks since I struggled through those caves, dying often, but already it was history. My history.<br /><br />In <i>EQ</i>, there was a genuine, visceral thrill in going back, years later, to romp around the <i>Gates of Discord</i> zones. They'd terrified me at launch and broken my guild along with many others. I had, quite literally, my most terrifying times in MMOs ever there. Now I owned them. It was glorious.<br /><br />It also works when you level up to see content that you couldn't even get to first time around. In <i>EverQuest </i>some of the most fun I ever had was in a duo with Mrs Bhagpuss, clearing the Planes in the <i>Planes of Power</i> expansion . We were half a decade behind the curve and twenty levels over par but who was counting? We came late to <i>Castle Mistmoore</i> in <i>EQ2 </i>as well, but by the time we were able to duo it it was a fun riot.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4m36p_PR1_4/W1h03_td8hI/AAAAAAAAUY0/_CZQcw5wDDERVsZ-inNcDszgRMolN89pACLcBGAs/s1600/wowpants1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="953" height="310" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4m36p_PR1_4/W1h03_td8hI/AAAAAAAAUY0/_CZQcw5wDDERVsZ-inNcDszgRMolN89pACLcBGAs/s640/wowpants1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How many pairs of pants does the average character get through in 120 levels anyway?</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The thing about all of these experiences is that they were aspirational. In every case I was doing something I'd always wanted to do but never could until then. That aspiration needed space to grow and time. Doing those dungeons, those zones, that content, attritionally or awkwardly, slowly, painfully or arduously, at level, built that desire. So did being locked out, left out, denied. Or trying and failing.<br /><br />It's all a mind game. You know none of it matters yet it does. It matters because you make it matter. Yes, that again. It's the trick that works until it doesn't.<br /><br />It's also a trick that comes easily to me. I can believe two contradictory things at the same time. Always could. Understanding that something both matters and doesn't matter is second nature.<br /><br />I have a lot more trouble with the other part of Jeromai's assessment, that things would be different (better) if there was skill involved. Treating the intellectual, emotional, psychological and physical cost of acquiring high-level skill in a specific video game, let alone a specific encounter, as an appropriate use of my finite personal resources is a step too far for my suspension of disbelief.<br /><br />It's around that point where pragmatism pitches in. If I find myself up against a skill wall in a video game my response generally isn't to git gud. It's to get out. If it's going to take <i>that </i>much effort there's plenty of work around the house that needs doing. Or if we're talking skills, maybe I could learn to speak another language or to play a musical instrument...<br /><br />Which is not to denigrate the efforts of those who worship skill in video games or the satisfaction they get from their successes. Everything is worth precisely what it's worth - to you. I don't deny the value, I just can't share it. Instead, when people start discussing the need for "skill", I find myself questioning my sense of belonging, just like UltrViolet.<br /><br />It's all about finding your tribe. And my tribe likes cheese.Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-72419632143675390012018-07-24T21:42:00.001+01:002018-07-24T21:42:38.263+01:00Winds Of Change : GW2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9d4onjOj5Iw/W1dkoDnAvRI/AAAAAAAAUXI/Uyw3X4Mt2Es3lyYdK6HOE-FXCisw5YHhQCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2lc1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9d4onjOj5Iw/W1dkoDnAvRI/AAAAAAAAUXI/Uyw3X4Mt2Es3lyYdK6HOE-FXCisw5YHhQCLcBGAs/s640/gw2lc1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span id="goog_118921908"></span><span id="goog_118921909"></span>As promised, <i>The Festival of the Four Winds</i> begins today. The gantries and ropewalks, the silk banners and paper kites, the cries of the hawkers and vendors... how much have I missed all this?<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BTBmvL74jx4/W1dkfxIxqQI/AAAAAAAAUXM/g9YJJmYO8XQ-E1Z7WonGzSdLpwT3v54FwCEwYBhgL/s1600/gw2lc7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BTBmvL74jx4/W1dkfxIxqQI/AAAAAAAAUXM/g9YJJmYO8XQ-E1Z7WonGzSdLpwT3v54FwCEwYBhgL/s640/gw2lc7.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All aboard The Skylark! </td></tr></tbody></table><br />The weeks and months either side of the original Bazaar of the Four Winds were arguably GW2's creative peak. With everything that's happened since, it's been all too easy to forget.&nbsp; Everything we complained about back then gleams like true riches right now. Spoiled. We were spoiled. And we cried like brats.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dhUXzvm-ehU/W1eHr_rd0hI/AAAAAAAAUXY/WLz-jqJOgCkaw9ybP4R_KtSv988IODpsACLcBGAs/s1600/gw2lc8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dhUXzvm-ehU/W1eHr_rd0hI/AAAAAAAAUXY/WLz-jqJOgCkaw9ybP4R_KtSv988IODpsACLcBGAs/s640/gw2lc8.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The colors, man...</td></tr></tbody></table>The colors. So rich. Psychedelic. The depth and complexity of the structures. Overwhelming. This is possibly the finest map ANet's exemplary Art Department ever produced. Why was it lost for all those years?<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GIcmJWz8xrU/W1eH9MkenFI/AAAAAAAAUXg/PHCv-hXi8y4OFUG67qzig3FO1DcLnl0lgCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2lc2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GIcmJWz8xrU/W1eH9MkenFI/AAAAAAAAUXg/PHCv-hXi8y4OFUG67qzig3FO1DcLnl0lgCLcBGAs/s640/gw2lc2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No its... actually, what <i>is</i> that thing?</td></tr></tbody></table><br />It's here now, at least. We have three weeks to savor it. I feel particularly blessed with three accounts, one with all expansions enabled, one with only <i>Heart of Thorns, </i>one with neither.&nbsp;<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MJjOBOhd64A/W1eIVjt2lnI/AAAAAAAAUXo/qRncGd5Aiv4ucyUTK3qOCRMagqi3F9L3QCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2lc6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MJjOBOhd64A/W1eIVjt2lnI/AAAAAAAAUXo/qRncGd5Aiv4ucyUTK3qOCRMagqi3F9L3QCLcBGAs/s640/gw2lc6.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sitting in&nbsp; chairs. All the cool kids are doing it.</td></tr></tbody></table>It means I can enjoy the Labyrinthine Cliffs in three very different ways: as they were intended, using only the zephrite movement crystals; with the glorious freedom of the glider; in easy mode, mounted.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BNV1ao5d7HU/W1eIjkDqEaI/AAAAAAAAUXs/UFcrD0KmCy8KLS4PS47ci5gAmqJDF1UuQCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2lc4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BNV1ao5d7HU/W1eIjkDqEaI/AAAAAAAAUXs/UFcrD0KmCy8KLS4PS47ci5gAmqJDF1UuQCLcBGAs/s640/gw2lc4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mirror glass seas and mother of pearl skies. It's not about drugs, honest.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />There's so much to do here. Griffin and Skimmer races, crystal collections, a meta. I've come away to write this too soon to have seen more than a glimpse and done more than a fraction.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IVHvn4QCVok/W1eJdBDVhLI/AAAAAAAAUX8/XN3-kQPh1UcDtWQoGdmmGhNyeC5BMNoHACLcBGAs/s1600/gw2lc5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IVHvn4QCVok/W1eJdBDVhLI/AAAAAAAAUX8/XN3-kQPh1UcDtWQoGdmmGhNyeC5BMNoHACLcBGAs/s640/gw2lc5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I was looking out the window and a witch flew by" : <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNws7a6ffC0"><span style="color: lime;">Source</span></a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />I came by ship. Something so special about traveling by sea, even if the trip itself is reduced to nothing more than a postcard. Hot air balloons too, for the ride to The Crown Pavilion, but that's another tale entirely.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DkqYKzcjNjo/W1eKb6Bh6vI/AAAAAAAAUYE/4n2mPZXy9MI4B7Oz4W7EkUevo3R4Gia0wCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2lc3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DkqYKzcjNjo/W1eKb6Bh6vI/AAAAAAAAUYE/4n2mPZXy9MI4B7Oz4W7EkUevo3R4Gia0wCLcBGAs/s640/gw2lc3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How did I get up here? Rabbits may have been involved.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />It seems plenty of work has been done to bring the festival grounds up to date, to include everyone. Giant frogs from the deep Maguuma jungles wander the waterline. Charr from the recently-discovered Olmakhan tribes struggle to adjust as they wander the walkways, bartering with the merchants.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nX-9265cCZY/W1eK5SYr8UI/AAAAAAAAUYM/r9XAmhZErd4o0224VSlqDvQo-UDe_M20QCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2lc9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nX-9265cCZY/W1eK5SYr8UI/AAAAAAAAUYM/r9XAmhZErd4o0224VSlqDvQo-UDe_M20QCLcBGAs/s640/gw2lc9.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No-one over four metres tall allowed on upper decks for safety reasons.</td></tr></tbody></table>&nbsp;The whole place is a melting pot, roiling, chaotic and alive. It was like this all those years ago and now it is again. We have travelled so far but we have come home at last.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IpH5hb2dTSE/W1eLbKn4t5I/AAAAAAAAUYU/xQdT42j1OQUQmtnWp5ppYgKWp4aAZURLgCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2lc10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IpH5hb2dTSE/W1eLbKn4t5I/AAAAAAAAUYU/xQdT42j1OQUQmtnWp5ppYgKWp4aAZURLgCLcBGAs/s640/gw2lc10.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I smell a mystery. Or maybe there's dried fish in these barrels.</td></tr></tbody></table>All but the Zephrites. I wonder if their story has ended or whether, exploring, more might be revealed. Let's go find out.<br /><br />Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-89314570805502601732018-07-23T16:33:00.000+01:002018-07-23T16:33:08.941+01:00Get Real <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZjihhQGT8Rw/W1Xk1gDqoSI/AAAAAAAAUWk/gezubkOFAzU9iNQXh5AoZHYO2Sni0jfJACLcBGAs/s1600/gw2smc5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZjihhQGT8Rw/W1Xk1gDqoSI/AAAAAAAAUWk/gezubkOFAzU9iNQXh5AoZHYO2Sni0jfJACLcBGAs/s640/gw2smc5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>After I got home from work last night (yes, on a Sunday. Poor me, eh?) I had my tea and logged on to <i>GW2 </i>to do my dailies. Three hours later I logged off, having done nothing but World vs World from the moment I logged in. This morning, just after ten, I logged into <i>GW2 </i>to do my dailies. Four hours later I logged off to have lunch, having done nothing but WvW from the moment I logged in.<br /><br />World vs World isn't in a good place right now. Balance, as usual, is all to hell. Population across the board is at an all-time low, reflecting the general interest - or rather lack thereof - in the game mode. Among the people who are still playing there's a sense of fin-de-siecle recklessness. Everyone knows we're living in the end days. We just don't know the exact moment of our demise.<br /><br />While we wait for ANet to iterate and reiterate on <a href="https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/45856/world-restructuring-update-1/p1"><span style="color: magenta;">the Alliance proposal</span></a>, grinding it down until they abrade every last shard of interest and enthusiasm from its imagined sheen, preparing the dull, inert husk we'll be expected to inhabit thereafter and forever, the more excitable, self-appointed community cheerleaders are running their own unofficial pre-alliance beta, stacking servers and gutting guilds as they go, leaving a trail of chaos and tears in their wake.<br /><br />Matches mean nothing and haven't for months. Many would say years. World vs world has descended into self-parody, or possibly ascended into archetype. Those NPCs who talk about the endless wars in the Mists, the battles without purpose or glory or end, the eternal Valhalla of the not-yet dead? It turns out they were on the money all along.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RIoU4wc96BQ/W1XxjIhgksI/AAAAAAAAUWw/tknk_nG-_yAr_ZyqKTPlBOM1EiYJXHR6QCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2wvwyb1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1313" height="350" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RIoU4wc96BQ/W1XxjIhgksI/AAAAAAAAUWw/tknk_nG-_yAr_ZyqKTPlBOM1EiYJXHR6QCLcBGAs/s640/gw2wvwyb1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Conversations with people you don't know about things you don't understand. #VirtuallLife.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />As I was driving back from the shops before I started playing this morning I heard a brief snatch of a radio program angsting over screen-time for children. An Expert opined that parents need to provide exciting alternatives to convince their addicted offspring that there are more exciting prospects in gaming (yes, in gaming - the goal was merely to move to more rewarding gaming options, not away from the games themselves, let alone the screens) than winning another battle royale in <i>Fortnite</i>.<br /><br />Are there, though? Really? Are you sure about that?<br /><br />Raph Koster, someone who gives every indication of being exhausted by the way the world has turned, is quoted by Massively:OP as saying (on Twitter, naturally, because where else does one go for philosophical insight these days?)<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: large;">“Certainly no one has ever accused me of being non-passionate about online worlds or non-innovative with MMOs… and yet I don’t enjoy most of them these days. My inspirations for better ones mostly comes from outside what has become a stagnant field…”</span></blockquote>&nbsp;<a href="https://massivelyop.com/2018/07/23/the-daily-grind-do-you-still-have-passion-for-mmorpgs/"><span style="color: magenta;">M:OP spins that into a discussion document.</span></a> I did comment. I said I liked MMOs, still like them, can't see why I shouldn't. I didn't add that I wished people who didn't like them would just bugger off and find something they do like instead. But I thought it.<br /><br />Zubon, in <a href="https://www.killtenrats.com/2018/07/21/ephemera/"><span style="color: magenta;">a much more thought-provoking post</span></a>, which will see far less attention, takes aim at permanence. Waxing unusually poetic, he concludes:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: large;">"Your parents tell you to be careful what you post online, because the internet is forever. Maybe some of your data is archived forever, but much of it is as lasting as a fallen leaf. It grew. It changed colors. It feel beautifully and perhaps unseen. In the spring it was dust, new mulch for new growth."</span></blockquote><br />I commented there, too. "<i>Same as everything else, then</i>", I said.<br /><br />Really, what do people expect? This is Existentialsm 101, isn't it? We're here, we do stuff, we die. Nothing matters except that we make it matter. Our experience defines us and we define it.<br /><br />Existentialism is a little out of fashion, you'd think. That was the 1950s, wasn't it? The 1960s. It helped if you were French. Sartre, de Beauvoir, la Nouvelle Vague...<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hn4YXJw-k2k/W1XyLGkmqgI/AAAAAAAAUW4/JKNqad9QFIs8rphKSeanDH-IxV6pm95BQCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2wvwcf1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="705" data-original-width="1285" height="350" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hn4YXJw-k2k/W1XyLGkmqgI/AAAAAAAAUW4/JKNqad9QFIs8rphKSeanDH-IxV6pm95BQCLcBGAs/s640/gw2wvwcf1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everyone needs a purpose in life.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Then, authenticity is the defining trope of existentialism, isn't it? And what's the defining trope of the foremost philosophy in popular culture (Western) of the last decade? (That's Hipsterism in case you don't have your schedule to hand). Why, Authenticity. Of course it is.<br /><br />Can the virtual be authentic? Is your online experience as experiential as your offline? Are your Facebook friends <i>real </i>friends? These are the burning questions of the day.<br /><br />How much does it matter that things <i>matter </i>for it to matter that they matter to you? If Stonemist Castle changes hands outside your time zone does it make a sound? If I spend two hours building arrowcarts and escorting yaks to take our spare Hills (the one we keep on on SBI's borderland) to T3, then log off and never think of it again, have I been dilligent and productive or self-indulgent and childish?<br /><br />I dunno. Don't look at me, I majored in English not Ethics. I just know that I did what I wanted to do and I don't regret a minute of it.<br /><br />When the time comes - and let's hope it doesn't come any time soon - I hope I can say with my last breath "<i>I wish I'd played more video games</i>". Maybe "<i>I wish I'd played more world vs world</i>".<br /><br />Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-85948310507366275202018-07-21T12:52:00.001+01:002018-07-21T12:52:50.998+01:00BFA Fever : WoW<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5nuh2D1R7DI/W1MYs_k5MrI/AAAAAAAAUVs/ZrXqmvJXqCs_vblSyiviLwx2SKemCHC4ACLcBGAs/s1600/wowmul1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5nuh2D1R7DI/W1MYs_k5MrI/AAAAAAAAUVs/ZrXqmvJXqCs_vblSyiviLwx2SKemCHC4ACLcBGAs/s640/wowmul1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>I thought about calling this post "<i>If All Your Friends Jumped Off <a href="https://bhagpuss.blogspot.com/2018/07/if-all-your-friends-jumped-off-bridge.html"><span style="color: magenta;">Another</span></a> Bridge..</i>.".&nbsp; It's been a long time since I last played <i>World of Warcraft</i> but today I patched up and logged in again, all because <a href="https://aldshotfirst.com/2018/07/21/goodbye-legion-hello-bfa/"><span style="color: magenta;">every</span></a> <a href="http://athernesadventures.blogspot.com/2018/07/squished-destruction-warlock.html"><span style="color: magenta;">blogger</span></a> <a href="https://marcleoseguin.com/2018/07/20/pre-patch-is-the-worst-kind-of-patch/"><span style="color: magenta;">in</span></a> <a href="https://inanage.com/2018/07/20/wow-again-redux-part-2/"><span style="color: magenta;">blogdom</span></a> <a href="https://imnotsquishy.wordpress.com/2018/07/19/wow-me/"><span style="color: magenta;">is</span></a> <a href="https://gamingsf.wordpress.com/2018/07/18/wow-8-0-is-not-golden/"><span style="color: magenta;">doing</span></a> <a href="https://www.keenandgraev.com/2018/07/18/pre-patch-too-soon"><span style="color: magenta;">the</span></a> <a href="https://tagn.wordpress.com/2018/07/18/battle-for-azeroth-patch-day-blues/"><span style="color: magenta;">same</span></a>.<br /><br />And why? Expansion!<br /><br />Never mind that I got <i>Legion</i> for my birthday two years ago, registered the code and promptly forgot about it. Never mind that I never even set foot on <i>The Broken Isles</i> let alone leveled up there. Never mind that I never even saw an Artifact Weapon or a Demon Hunter...<br /><br />Actually, why stop there? All I ever saw of <i>Warlords of Draenor</i> was a handful of starter quests and maybe two percent of the first zone. Never even got a glimpse of my Garrison. <i>Mists of Pandaria?</i> I have a level four panda somewhere, I think.<br /><br /><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bmpNs-JJ8gw/W1MZrfC7aXI/AAAAAAAAUWE/27X0enT5EXo6sKdJbf0uoXETseFVJ3mHACLcBGAs/s1600/wowbn1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="319" data-original-width="343" height="371" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bmpNs-JJ8gw/W1MZrfC7aXI/AAAAAAAAUWE/27X0enT5EXo6sKdJbf0uoXETseFVJ3mHACLcBGAs/s400/wowbn1.jpg" width="400" /></a>I did see a few of the changes wrought by the <i>Cataclysm</i>, mostly because a good deal of that much-maligned expansion falls within the remit of the F2P Starter Edition. Oddly, Cataclysm is the content that most interests me because I can remember the original zones reasonably well and seeing how they've changed piques my curiosity. Also, low level play...<br /><br />It's usually relatively simple to return to WoW. Not as easy as coming back to <i>GW2</i>, which is virtually seamless, but not too annoying. This time was no different although there were a few hiccups.<br /><br />First there was a Battlenet update of some kind&nbsp; That took mere seconds. After that came a huge patch for WoW itself - over 13GB. The launcher claimed the game was "playable" almost immediately but I waited for Optimal before hitting Play. That took me straight into one of Blizzard's epic cinematics.<br /><br />Even with my minimal knowledge of WoW Lore I could sort of follow some of it although I have no idea of the names of any of the featured players. It was quite impressive to watch although 90% of it was just sound effects and explosions.<br /><br />It occurred to me after a while that these cinematics are what two five-year olds see in their heads when they smash their plastic action figures together and shout at each other. The parts where someone yells "<i>For the Horde!</i>" and "<i>For the Alliance!</i>" really bring that home.<br /><br />Once the excitement died down it was on to a list of servers. Quite a few of them were Offline including, naturally, the one on which most of my characters sleep. Rather than wait for whatever was going on to be fixed I logged on someone on a server that was working.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DFvmT7A25zE/W1MZMfFvbvI/AAAAAAAAUV8/7kngkZkPozsSSkwMHEFG-LfDPovG96i0ACLcBGAs/s1600/wowgw21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DFvmT7A25zE/W1MZMfFvbvI/AAAAAAAAUV8/7kngkZkPozsSSkwMHEFG-LfDPovG96i0ACLcBGAs/s640/wowgw21.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's how it's meant to look. </td></tr></tbody></table>It turned out to be a Level 1 Dwarf I'd never played (clearly, what with him being Level 1 and all...). The game treated me to another cinematic, this time just a fly-by using existing assets with a voiceover, something about some political intrigue in Ironforge. I'm guessing it had something to do with the new Dwarven racial option, the Dark Iron mob, who were enemies last I remember but who seem to have been brought into the fold at least somewhat. <br /><br />I had no wish to play yet another dwarf so all I did with this one was use him to get my Add Ons working. Not that I use many. The only one flagged as out of date was the GW2 UI mod, without which I can no longer imagine playing WoW at all. (Okay, I guess I'd acclimatize if I had to but it really is <i>so </i>much better...).<br /><br />There was already an updated version available (and indeed a beta of a still-newer version). I installed it manually and it didn't work so I fired up <i>Twitch</i>, which acquired the old Curse auto-updater for Add-Ons that everyone used to use. I am getting more use out of Twitch than <i>Steam </i>these days...<br /><br />That worked flawlessly, almost instantly. I dropped the dwarf and checked to see if my regular server was back up. It wasn't but at least now there was a pop-up saying Blizzard was doing something about it.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2F9ItHro1tE/W1MY4Fc-zYI/AAAAAAAAUVw/DqTsGmgpDKQNKxFj-3QkRiBkoAdXgqFKQCLcBGAs/s1600/wowdemon1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2F9ItHro1tE/W1MY4Fc-zYI/AAAAAAAAUVw/DqTsGmgpDKQNKxFj-3QkRiBkoAdXgqFKQCLcBGAs/s640/wowdemon1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He's small but he packs a punch! And so do I.</td></tr></tbody></table>I still wanted to have a run around, get back in the Azeroth groove, so I swapped to my old Free to Play account. I made it before the current version of F2P, the one that lets you play any character up to level 20.&nbsp; <br /><br />Remarkably I was able to find the old log-in details. Before I could reacquaint myself with my old friends I had to reassure Blizzard I wasn't being&nbsp; hacked by replying to an email; before I could do that, I had to reassure my email provider I was who I said I was. These things happen when you go a few years between log-ins. I'm just happy any of it still works.<br /><br />Finally I was able to log in my good old Goblin Warlock. She's a great character. I took her all through the extremely detailed and enjoyable Goblin starter zones and <a href="https://bhagpuss.blogspot.com/2013/10/a-little-touch-of-goblin-in-night-wow.html"><span style="color: magenta;">blogged about it</span></a> way back when. 2013 in fact. Five years ago. Blimey, Charlie!<br /><br />For some reason she was in the Tauren homeland of Mulgore, which is one of the most attractive parts of Azeroth. If you're going to get abandoned anywhere it's a better option than most. At level 14 I don't imagine many of the recent changes have affected her much but I did notice she only had one spell on her hot bar.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4jmrG466drQ/W1MZ3lFYD1I/AAAAAAAAUWI/WUnp7ivYcmA-_vTjNlLmLb80b_X8GbV-ACLcBGAs/s1600/wowgriff1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4jmrG466drQ/W1MZ3lFYD1I/AAAAAAAAUWI/WUnp7ivYcmA-_vTjNlLmLb80b_X8GbV-ACLcBGAs/s640/wowgriff1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"What kind of creature bore you? Was it some kind of bat?" <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-aVtKEhpO0"><span style="color: lime;">NSFW link to source</span></a>. </td></tr></tbody></table><br />It takes quite awhile to kill something with just the default attack and you don't get a huge amount of xp for doing it, either. Once I'd put all her spells back, time-to-kill improved although xp remained charmingly sparse.<br /><br />I seem to remember there was a time when leveling in the teens was so ridiculously fast it made the whole thing feel pointless. This time, even when I started doing some quests, the pace felt reasonable. Still brisk enough at maybe forty-five minutes to finish level 14 but not so speedy I felt disconnected.<br /><br />I'm not sure if the basic spells have changed. I was using Demonology and summoning imps with a meteor, having my Felguard (?) to tank and throwing in some kind of demonic wolf now and then as well. It was fun. Reminded me somewhat of being a Minion Master Necromancer in GW2.<br /><br />There was some to and fro on the weird batwinged griffins the Horde use as air taxis. It always surprises me how much time in WoW is spent just sitting on things watching the scenery. That does feel old-fashioned.&nbsp;<br /><br />I carried on until the Warlock dinged and then I called it a day. I'm back, kind of. When my regular server recovers I'll have to decide whether or not to re-sub. I probaly will for August, if for no other reason than it'll give me something to post about for Blaugust.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-87580068264887206352018-07-18T21:24:00.000+01:002018-07-18T21:28:17.397+01:00Something Changed : Wizard 101<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2Ny4hAw1jcQ/W0-FnnwNU2I/AAAAAAAAUUI/6m-XafckV_8cEjGiSF96yjzzX6rfxd8PwCLcBGAs/s1600/w101cc2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="829" data-original-width="1600" height="330" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2Ny4hAw1jcQ/W0-FnnwNU2I/AAAAAAAAUUI/6m-XafckV_8cEjGiSF96yjzzX6rfxd8PwCLcBGAs/s640/w101cc2.png" width="640" /></a></div><i>Wizard 101</i> received <a href="https://www.wizard101.com/game/update-notes"><span style="color: magenta;">a major update</span></a> yesterday. As the extensive patch notes reveal there were upgrades to Monstrology and Fishing but the centerpiece was the much-teased graphical revamp to Wizard City.<br /><br />Updating the graphics for an aging MMORPG is a risky undertaking. Sometimes the changes can be almost too subtle to see, as in <i>Guild Wars</i> recent <a href="https://bhagpuss.blogspot.com/2018/05/long-distance-runaround-guild-wars.html"><span style="color: magenta;">refurbishment</span></a>. Sometimes they can be eye-popping, as in <i>EverQuest</i>'s infamous Freeport <a href="https://bhagpuss.blogspot.com/2011/11/history-repeating-eq2.html"><span style="color: magenta;">rebuild</span></a>. Mostly they don't make an awful lot of difference, failing to convince potential new players that anything much has changed while mildly irritating veterans, who grumble a little but then carry on as though nothing had happened.<br /><br />KingsIsle, who seem to have a better grasp on how to curate an MMO than most developers, have neatly sidestepped most of the potential pitfalls by simply adding a toggle to options:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: large;">"For those who prefer nostalgia or less graphic-intensive visuals, we’ve also instituted “Classic-Mode” so you can return these areas of the game to their original look. We know you might sometimes miss the old Wizard City, so we wanted to provide a way for you to return the game to its original settings."</span></blockquote><br />Now, really, how hard was that? It also allows me to post some "Before" and "After" shots.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vPw2Ns29laQ/W0-JYWj-91I/AAAAAAAAUUU/FtVONwTsVlg0azuUD1wekLiGZE6psLWLgCEwYBhgL/s1600/w101bef1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vPw2Ns29laQ/W0-JYWj-91I/AAAAAAAAUUU/FtVONwTsVlg0azuUD1wekLiGZE6psLWLgCEwYBhgL/s640/w101bef1.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Before</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-na7HSnrTXDo/W0-Ji8HU9FI/AAAAAAAAUUg/ArrfneZuT9gLOn8IjIT9W7JoRO_p6jS3wCEwYBhgL/s1600/w101aft1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-na7HSnrTXDo/W0-Ji8HU9FI/AAAAAAAAUUg/ArrfneZuT9gLOn8IjIT9W7JoRO_p6jS3wCEwYBhgL/s640/w101aft1.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">After</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mdK7D1L98OI/W0-KRd2kYDI/AAAAAAAAUUk/aY_wrV9d5AwWyZD4lazBVubYZtqHYAhKACLcBGAs/s1600/w101bef2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mdK7D1L98OI/W0-KRd2kYDI/AAAAAAAAUUk/aY_wrV9d5AwWyZD4lazBVubYZtqHYAhKACLcBGAs/s640/w101bef2.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Before</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iNc4MD-kyXA/W0-KZ98GLFI/AAAAAAAAUUo/Wwg_Tb71HO0dlTE6_1xhk9TB2VC924rngCLcBGAs/s1600/w101aft2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iNc4MD-kyXA/W0-KZ98GLFI/AAAAAAAAUUo/Wwg_Tb71HO0dlTE6_1xhk9TB2VC924rngCLcBGAs/s640/w101aft2.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">After</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><br />The new graphics are very evidently cleaner, sharper and smoother. Whether they look more up-to-date is less obvious. It's also slightly unnerving to see the old cobblestone bridge replaced with wooden planks. That would be seen as a downgrade if it happened in real life, wouldn't it?<br /><br />Given that, for once, there's a choice, the definitive judgment on whether the revamp has been successful lies in which version you decide to use. I'm going with the new one. It's not radically different but it's different enough to make the old zones look and feel fresh.<br /><br />The update also came with something that more MMOs could do with - a lore-appropriate, in-game mechanism for taking screenshots. In keeping with the theme of the game we now have Photomancy as an option.&nbsp; <br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p_q5sUn6Cco/W0-N8BDhO2I/AAAAAAAAUU4/dj4Og_2n6p8vA1gczAq_qniyxpA7GzQagCLcBGAs/s1600/w101shut1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="757" data-original-width="1600" height="302" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p_q5sUn6Cco/W0-N8BDhO2I/AAAAAAAAUU4/dj4Og_2n6p8vA1gczAq_qniyxpA7GzQagCLcBGAs/s640/w101shut1.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just exactly how old do you need to be to get the joke here?</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />There's a new NPC, Annie Shutterbug, ready and waiting with a short series of&nbsp; introductory quests. I ran around doing those, last night. It took no more than a few minutes and gave me the opportunity to check out the graphical changes in several zones.<br /><br />Unfortunately, although all the quests completed just fine, when I came to look at the shots I'd taken my album was empty. It's entirely possible this is because I'm doing something wrong. Or maybe my shutter is bugged.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oMEETEk59fo/W0-OH5b_UfI/AAAAAAAAUU8/WEW1s0AgrH4xTtMXljy8Z8okrMOOG_BRACLcBGAs/s1600/w101album1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="801" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oMEETEk59fo/W0-OH5b_UfI/AAAAAAAAUU8/WEW1s0AgrH4xTtMXljy8Z8okrMOOG_BRACLcBGAs/s640/w101album1.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Darn! None of them came out!</td></tr></tbody></table><br />I'll give it a day or two to shake out then try again. I hope it works then because it's a super-useful facility to have, being able to open your screenshot folder within the game. I seem to remember <i>Black Desert</i> having something similar. I wish every MMO did.<br /><br />As if all that wasn't enough, the update also added a Magic Mirror that allows you to "<i>change your hair, hair color, face, skin, and eye color</i>" and access "<i>new hairstyles, new hair colors (including rainbow), new skin tones, and new faces (including ones with glasses) that aren’t available in character creation</i>". All of that comes with a fee attached but the patch notes go on to say "<i>We have made a few of the new hairstyles available for free in character creation as well</i>."<br /><br />I didn't try the Mirror, which also offers face painting, mostly because I forgot about it, but I did make a new character. It's so long since I last visited Character Creation in W101 that I couldn't even begin to guess which of the options were new.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GXjpZd6ePa8/W0-bIqa4ExI/AAAAAAAAUVM/tmUUdmacrxgHpUCzytBf5bw-h_Is_uLcgCLcBGAs/s1600/w101cc1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="705" data-original-width="1600" height="280" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GXjpZd6ePa8/W0-bIqa4ExI/AAAAAAAAUVM/tmUUdmacrxgHpUCzytBf5bw-h_Is_uLcgCLcBGAs/s640/w101cc1.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />The whole thing looked sparklier and flashier than I remembered. I made a female wizard for the first time. For some reason, even though I've been playing cross-gender in MMORPGs for the best part of twenty years and never really had any issues with it, for reasons I'd struggle to articulate let alone explain, I've always found myself cleaving towards playing my own gender in games aimed primarily at kids. I only played males in <i>Free Realms</i> and so far both my W101 and <i>Pirate 101</i> characters have been boys.<br /><br />It is 2018, though, isn't it? I should be able to be anything I want online, right? And let's be honest, it's not like I ever talk to anyone when I play either of KingsIsle's titles. I actively avoid other people most of the time because I've always found it generally slows things down if you group there. I already get a ton of Friend invites playing a boy, all of which I decline unanswered, so the chances of any awkward conversations are minimal.<br /><br />Well, let's hope so, because I went ahead and rolled a girl. The character I ended up with looked a <i>lot </i>better than any of my males, wizards or pirates. Most of them look dippy, drippy or dull. On boys, the robes tend to look like dressing gowns and the pirate outfits like pajamas, whereas the girls look relatively well turned-out, as I think the following team photograph amply demonstrates: <br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2YJxXLbiMsw/W0-biMI2WSI/AAAAAAAAUVU/dPDqgKHMYd0WBDlKOHZyx8YO3nZfCMIGgCLcBGAs/s1600/w101tp1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="729" data-original-width="1600" height="290" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2YJxXLbiMsw/W0-biMI2WSI/AAAAAAAAUVU/dPDqgKHMYd0WBDlKOHZyx8YO3nZfCMIGgCLcBGAs/s640/w101tp1.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't even think about asking me to the prom, losers!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br />There was some other impressive stuff in the update too, like some nice UI tweaks, particularly to sound, which I noticed and appreciated immediately. Not sure it's likely to get me playing again, mainly because there's just too much else going on right now, but it's very heartening to see a ten-year old MMO still getting such solid and worthwhile attention.<br /><br /><br />Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-75311736105654046362018-07-17T21:51:00.001+01:002018-07-17T21:51:37.991+01:00Christmas In July : GW2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pSZ8Zw3A8Ag/W05PAPQre6I/AAAAAAAAUTw/3O2TA4NtOR4BOArVHF4ShB-xeMtO8BH8QCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2ffw1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pSZ8Zw3A8Ag/W05PAPQre6I/AAAAAAAAUTw/3O2TA4NtOR4BOArVHF4ShB-xeMtO8BH8QCLcBGAs/s640/gw2ffw1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Hands up who saw this coming? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?<br /><br /><a href="https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/festival-of-the-four-winds-begins-next-week/"><span style="color: magenta;">Here's the press release.</span></a><br /><br />It's tempting to be ultra-cynical and say ANet really needed a crowd-pleaser about now but surely they can't have thrown this all together in a week? Can they?<br /><br />Then again, people have been asking for the return of <a href="https://bhagpuss.blogspot.com/2017/10/over-under-sideways-down-gw2.html"><span style="color: magenta;">The Festival of Four Winds</span></a>, <a href="https://bhagpuss.blogspot.com/2014/05/youd-have-to-pay-me-to-do-that-gw2.html"><span style="color: magenta;">Boss Blitz</span></a> and <a href="http://bhagpuss.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-red-balloon-gw2.html"><span style="color: magenta;">The Crown Pavilion</span></a> for years now with absolutely no sign that anyone was listening. Now here they all are at once. Coincidence?<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RJMuWMz4SGo/W05T1xSkrHI/AAAAAAAAUT8/5LaqM6omVsMeNwa62UeZ3XQ9RRbwX1gygCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2ffw2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RJMuWMz4SGo/W05T1xSkrHI/AAAAAAAAUT8/5LaqM6omVsMeNwa62UeZ3XQ9RRbwX1gygCLcBGAs/s640/gw2ffw2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Whatever. I'll take it. I've lost count of the number of times I've said <i>GW2 </i>needs more in-game holidays. I never understood why Four Winds wasn't an annual event in the first place. There was never a lore reason against it that I could see, even after the destruction of most of the Zephrite fleet. The festival grounds were mainly earthbound or entirely separate from the airships after all.<br /><br />As for The Crown Pavilion and Boss Blitz, it always seemed they were dropped because they were too popular, if anything. No-one really did anything else when they were running.<br /><br />It all kicks off in just seven days! Doesn't say how long it lasts but I would guess two weeks.<br /><br />Bring it on!Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-9101111566304711632018-07-16T11:00:00.001+01:002018-07-16T15:15:53.613+01:00Rolling Along : GW2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M6iJYtndkMM/W0xOZ0BNSxI/AAAAAAAAUSw/iFKL64GFUDkJn2XMl0QK_KUvjPo7NfsuACLcBGAs/s1600/gw2beetle1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M6iJYtndkMM/W0xOZ0BNSxI/AAAAAAAAUSw/iFKL64GFUDkJn2XMl0QK_KUvjPo7NfsuACLcBGAs/s640/gw2beetle1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>In a little less than six weeks <i>GW2 </i>will be six years old. It's very difficult to say what that means. I have a memory of an interview John Smedley gave to an industry website back around the turn of the century where he said that the expected life of <i>EverQuest </i>was around three years but with luck they might stretch that to five.<br /><br />Sadly that interview is lost to time or at least my google-fu isn't strong enough to conjure it. It's not true that everything posted on the Internet lives forever. I'm reasonably sure I'm not misremembering, however, if only because that estimate does tie in precisely with the development and release of <i>EQ2</i> and also explains both why SOE would have believed they'd need a new EQ product around five years in and why they'd have been confident that EQ players would migrate to it.<br /><br />Smed, as he has been on so many things, was wrong. MMORPGs have turned out to be much more long-lived than he or probably anyone at that time imagined. <i>Ultima Online</i> will be twenty-one years old this September. Come next spring, EverQuest will have been running for two full decades. They are far from alone in achieving scales of longevity their creators surely never envisaged.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xkQAr16bAb0/W0xjZ3ftVsI/AAAAAAAAUS8/B1oFMu20_zoLIIFuOhBhTRZjDOwIfXETQCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2beetle3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xkQAr16bAb0/W0xjZ3ftVsI/AAAAAAAAUS8/B1oFMu20_zoLIIFuOhBhTRZjDOwIfXETQCLcBGAs/s640/gw2beetle3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Come on, you can tell me. Your four-year old came up with this one, right?</td></tr></tbody></table>For a mainstream, moderately successful MMORPG, six years isn't much. It's not nothing - some have faded a lot faster than that - but a six-year stretch isn't remotely unusual. Even so, and even though the genre has yet to set anything like a benchmark for how long an MMO should expect to last, six years in an MMO does start to feel a little middle-aged.<br /><br />Going into the second half of the first decade, things have begun to settle. Most people who are going to play have most likely already played. There will always be a trickle of fresh blood but it's going to get harder and harder to present the game as "new". Most potential customers will direct their gaze elsewhere.<br /><br />It's why we see MMO houses devote so much attention and PR spend towards bringing lapsed customers back to the fold. Here, GW2 is in both a very a good and a very bad place. Clever game design from the outset means barriers to re-entry are almost non-existent. Conversely, reasons to stick around long-term can be hard to find.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wXpGPHbfNwo/W0xjfnZ-s9I/AAAAAAAAUTA/DCLKYK_2vtU1fYoIdSAmgHtXLqCPpUeaQCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2beetle6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wXpGPHbfNwo/W0xjfnZ-s9I/AAAAAAAAUTA/DCLKYK_2vtU1fYoIdSAmgHtXLqCPpUeaQCLcBGAs/s640/gw2beetle6.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Are you here for the beetle drop? Me too!</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Perhaps the hardest part is getting anyone to notice your aging game at all. As the <a href="https://massivelyop.com/2018/07/10/flameseeker-chronicles-unpacking-guild-wars-2s-pr-nightmare/"><span style="color: magenta;">recent furore</span></a> around the Twitter/reddit storms that led to the sacking of two writers might suggest, not all publicity is good publicity. Or maybe it is. Only ANet's sales department can say for certain. Watch for a dip or a spike in NCSoft's future quarterlies.<br /><br />What I do think has been highlighted by the whole sorry affair is the unwieldy and disproportionate emphasis placed on narrative and story, specifically in GW2. Had the participants in the initial exchanges not been so invested in the import of what they were discussing, maybe tempers would have been cooler but when it comes to stories some people do get excited.<br /><br />That seems to have been the thinking back in 2012, or even more so in the years before that, when GW2 was in development. Story was a Big Thing in MMOs then. We'd had BioWare making sweeping statements about the "fourth pillar" for years and even if <i>SW:tOR</i> had launched to a less than stellar reception a year earlier, the orthodoxy that narrative was paramount still held sway.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v9cphFVfIxI/W0xjmFTmtqI/AAAAAAAAUTE/hT1KAjtHeKAyqwpu3W9x959PYU-pmIXcwCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2beetle4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="669" data-original-width="652" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v9cphFVfIxI/W0xjmFTmtqI/AAAAAAAAUTE/hT1KAjtHeKAyqwpu3W9x959PYU-pmIXcwCLcBGAs/s400/gw2beetle4.jpg" width="388" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And the prize for Most Ridiculous Ride goes to...</td></tr></tbody></table>GW2 pegged much of its structure and a good deal of its PR push on the Personal Story. With no formal questing, no long-term vertical progression and a slew of unfamiliar mechanics centered around hot-join social activities, the directed, linear experience provided by the Personal Story threw out a lifeline to many players, who felt they were drowning in an ocean of choices.<br /><br />Six years, three and a half "Living Stories" and two expansions later, who still cares about the plot? As evidenced in last week's exchanges, the writing team retains a sense of importance that I fear may not be shared by their audience.<br /><br />A few years back map and guild chat would frequently, even routinely, buzz with speculation about the twists and turns of the storyline. Many players loathed Scarlet Briar and ridiculed the way the plot around her played out but they never stopped talking - and caring - about it.<br /><br />These days it's relatively rare to hear anyone even mention the story. There's a brief flurry on the day a new LS chapter arrives but even then most of the chatter revolves around whether the new meta is any good and where to get whatever new shiny came with the update.<br /><br /><a href="https://whyigame.wordpress.com/2018/07/15/warframe-thoughts-on-story-and-the-war-within-non-spoiler-edition/"><span style="color: magenta;">A recent post</span></a> by Jeromai compares the central story line in <i>Warframe </i>to GW2's ongoing narrative. I'm nowhere near far enough along in Warframe to make a judgment on its story but I do know that GW2 makes little sense in narrative terms and hasn't for a very long while. I don't know whether the recent events at ANet will impact that favorably or otherwise but my feeling is that the shake-up can't really make things any worse. We'll see in three months, I guess.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-o8v0IoRHuUE/W0xjr_9Y7vI/AAAAAAAAUTI/h69h-eqcL_cLANwG0BAvPDZiSz_qfyXSACLcBGAs/s1600/gw2beetle5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-o8v0IoRHuUE/W0xjr_9Y7vI/AAAAAAAAUTI/h69h-eqcL_cLANwG0BAvPDZiSz_qfyXSACLcBGAs/s640/gw2beetle5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No spitting in the trench, please!</td></tr></tbody></table><br />If story can't carry the weight of expectation and interest in an aging MMORPG, what might? Usually it would be some form of vertical or linear progression - new levels, more powerful gear - but GW2 has opted out of those old standbys.<br /><br />What's left is a series of fortunate events. Discrete, attractive, lapidary attractions, strewn like so many sparkling gems across a sweeping backcloth. ANet's designers and developers have learned to specialize in crafting Collections and Achievements that take a while to do and send players off on journeys across maps that might otherwise be forgotten, the way old zones in MMOs tend to be.<br /><br />The recent update added a sprawling Achievement - <a href="https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/The_Tyrian_Service_Meda"><span style="color: magenta;">The Tyrian Service Medal</span></a> - that sends players to kill more than half a dozen of the game's original World Bosses. If that wasn't enough, the achievement also asks you to complete all five of the Orr Temple events. That's a grand tour of Old Tyria if ever there was one. I will be working on that, on and off, for quite a while.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gCJ-Qsf3Ec8/W0xj0NCykyI/AAAAAAAAUTQ/p6kXbLFwlRMmUN385rRBgKYUeckmH1OeQCLcBGAs/s1600/gw2beetle2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gCJ-Qsf3Ec8/W0xj0NCykyI/AAAAAAAAUTQ/p6kXbLFwlRMmUN385rRBgKYUeckmH1OeQCLcBGAs/s640/gw2beetle2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soon have these weeds whacked.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />And then there's the linked series of collections for the Roller Beetle mount. I completed the third and final step yesterday. I didn't particularly want the ridiculous-looking beetle, although it turned out to be more amusing to ride than I expected. It's a motorcycle, basically. Or possibly a souped-up, ride-on mower.<br /><br />No, I did the collection because it was enjoyable, well-paced and satisfying. The Griffin achievement/collection/quest was <a href="https://bhagpuss.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-catbird-seat-gw2.html"><span style="color: magenta;">the highlight</span></a> of the last expansion for me. <a href="https://bhagpuss.blogspot.com/2017/02/keeping-up-with-current-events-gw2.html"><span style="color: magenta;">Cadalbolg</span></a> was the best thing in LS3 - even if technically it wasn't even <i>in </i>LS3. Scavenger hunts aren't anything original in MMOs but they're something ANet does very well indeed, better than most.<br /><br />Whether it's sustainable, long term, to scaffold player retention on a mosaic of discrete, short-term platforms like this, combined with a supporting framework of very lengthy, repetitive grinds such as those required to obtain Legendary weapons and armor remains to be seen. Probably, it is.<br /><br />As a business model and a creative plan for an enjoyable and long-lasting MMORPG, I think it has a lot more going for it than an inconsistent and barely coherent narrative, dished out in two or three hour helpings every third month. If I was a lapsed player I imagine I'd be alot more likely to log back in to get a Roller Beetle than I would be to find out which god was pretending to be which villain this time around.<br /><br />Of course, you do have to do at least some of the story just to get the starter for the beetle so bets are being hedged. Or maybe those are synergies. Either way, the collection was more fun than the story behind it. And I might even ride the thing once in a while. It does go <i>fast</i>.<br /><br />Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-90364537452073725752018-07-15T11:13:00.001+01:002018-07-15T11:13:09.166+01:00Weird Science (Fiction) : Warframe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ewTGT05yZDo/W0sHMeL5QXI/AAAAAAAAURo/tah4G_29SwQnzRLxxvU49o3fdwYMydb-QCLcBGAs/s1600/warcet1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="1600" height="342" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ewTGT05yZDo/W0sHMeL5QXI/AAAAAAAAURo/tah4G_29SwQnzRLxxvU49o3fdwYMydb-QCLcBGAs/s640/warcet1.png" width="640" /></a></div><i>Warframe </i>is weird. I don't think that will come as much of a surprise, especially to anyone who read Jeromai's <a href="https://whyigame.wordpress.com/2018/07/13/warframe-of-all-the-things-to-find-in-a-sci-fi-not-quite-mmo/"><span style="color: magenta;">fishing stories</span></a> earlier this week. You don't really expect to go fishing in a space shooter. Or maybe you do and I'm just being space-shooterist. It's not like I've played that many.<br /><br />I haven't found an awful lot of time to play this one either but I gave it an hour or so last night. I began by fiddling around with the UI, where I spotted a series of social settings that appear to toggle the game between co-op, multiplayer and solo.<br /><br />The default appears to be multi, which explains how I kept getting auto-grouped for missions. I swapped to Solo, where I could&nbsp; make my own mistakes and go at my own pace and without getting summarily dragged along by someone else's much faster progress.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NhEN0Xe8PEY/W0sWnaJQGLI/AAAAAAAAUR0/NwZEapUV-p88eR54FDj6AuFxm1eJoyaVwCLcBGAs/s1600/warcet2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="1600" height="342" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NhEN0Xe8PEY/W0sWnaJQGLI/AAAAAAAAUR0/NwZEapUV-p88eR54FDj6AuFxm1eJoyaVwCLcBGAs/s640/warcet2.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />That seemed to work quite nicely. For a while. I finished up a mission to get the Nav segment that allowed me to locate the Alien Overlord, the one who set the Ascaris mindworm burrowing into my brain. I'd already done the missions to stop it doing that but apparently now it was going to explode. Or something.&nbsp; I'm vague on the details, as usual. Anyway, nothing would serve but I go find the guy who put it in and kill him.<br /><br />So I went looking for him and found him. It didn't seem like he was doing so well. My handler told me he didn't have his Elite guards any more, which was nice. Well, it was nice for me. He seemed a bit miffed about it. He mithered on a bit about the trouble I'd gotten him into and I got the impression he'd been demoted. Possibly fired. Maybe run out of space-town on a rail.<br /><br />Honestly, I didn't really follow the plot all that closely. I find it hard to read, listen, roll, jump, shoot, loot, reload and generally not die all at the same time. I am becoming increasingly certain that action gaming is not the ideal medium for narrative. Odd, that.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9lqp_2vxnP0/W0sWwjzCnOI/AAAAAAAAUR4/UXQ-ZYhaFycp8UsM5g5cgo5BD1sQTDR_wCLcBGAs/s1600/warcet3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="1600" height="342" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9lqp_2vxnP0/W0sWwjzCnOI/AAAAAAAAUR4/UXQ-ZYhaFycp8UsM5g5cgo5BD1sQTDR_wCLcBGAs/s640/warcet3.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />There was a boss fight with Vor. That's the Overlord's name although since he was only the Overlord of the tutorial I am now more inclined to think of him as the Alien Janitor. Like all Tutorial bosses, if you can be defeated by a noob in starter gear, how Boss can you really be?<br /><br />Not that he didn't give me a tussle. He warped about a lot, summoned plenty of guards and seemed to have the health pool of any fifty grunts in the game to date. My tactics of running at things with the trigger on my automatic rifle held down sort of worked. I died a couple of times but at this stage&nbsp; Warframe appears to be one of those infinite revive games, where you just pop back up at full health next to the guy that killed you while he stays at whatever diminished state you put him in before you went down. <i>GW2 </i>works that way so I'm used to it.<br /><br />No, let's be fair. It's not exactly the GW2 Duracell Bunny method. There's a resource of some kind associated with reviving. You spend an amount of it from a pool. I guess you could, theoretically, run out. I have no idea how I got mine (and I can't remember what it's called) but I had plenty of it. About ten times what I needed.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lBCVMyYLFIo/W0sW7dCKUrI/AAAAAAAAUSA/6ecT5SzunNYXKH8Y__xFleUSFN_aSiHLgCLcBGAs/s1600/warcet5.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lBCVMyYLFIo/W0sW7dCKUrI/AAAAAAAAUSA/6ecT5SzunNYXKH8Y__xFleUSFN_aSiHLgCLcBGAs/s640/warcet5.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />After the fight I wasn't clear whether Vor was dead or just defeated for now, ready to come back and haunt my psyche-space another day. I was too busy with A Moral Conundrum to think about him. Suddenly everything was all about whether I should go do something to stop the ship destroying a Colony or just get the hell out of there. My handler advised me to leg it and forget about saving the colonists.<br /><br />I really hate being asked to make moral choices in games. I don't play for that kind of self-torture. I would have done the right thing and been irritated by being asked to make the decision but in the event the choice was made for me. I find the mapping in Warframe unnutterably confusing and in running around trying to find the Bridge, or wherever I was supposed to be going to stop the ship, I ran across the trigger point for Extraction, got sucked through a portal back to my ship and the Mission ended. Go serendipity!<br /><br />Back on my own ship I got a short lecture from Lotus (That's the handler's name. I believe people call her Space Mom and I can see why). She told me I was a big boy now and I could choose my own missions from now on. I guess that means I'm finally out of the tutorial.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9AJO8fDTsn4/W0sXEo6jasI/AAAAAAAAUSI/aP44gFFIRtc5gRVPkSMOp2ODQEWjYulcgCLcBGAs/s1600/warcet6.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9AJO8fDTsn4/W0sXEo6jasI/AAAAAAAAUSI/aP44gFFIRtc5gRVPkSMOp2ODQEWjYulcgCLcBGAs/s640/warcet6.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />Jeromai reccommended I head for the <i>Plains of Eidolon</i>, which is supposedly a quasi-open world area. The location was on my world map but to get there I had to go through Cetus.<br /><br />Cetus was... unexpected. Wareframe is <i>weird</i>.<br /><br />If I was designing a space opera style, high-tech shooter with heavy emphasis on military hardware and cyborg battle suits I don't think I'd choose to put the main trading area in a desert souk. Okay, there is plenty of precedent, from Tattooine to Arrakis, but that's more of a reason to avoid the trope, rather than double down on it, I'd have thought. <br /><br />Wandering around Cetus reminded me of nothing so much as being in <i>Vanguard</i>'s Qalia. The music, the snatches of incidental dialog, the color palette, the vibe. I spent quite a while exploring, talking to vendors, checking their stock. I felt oddly at home.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2fquDKJA5g8/W0sXMAsIisI/AAAAAAAAUSQ/D4fBr730pPsZXYh2tRaOtxy_Tj3JprPYwCLcBGAs/s1600/warcet4.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="1600" height="342" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2fquDKJA5g8/W0sXMAsIisI/AAAAAAAAUSQ/D4fBr730pPsZXYh2tRaOtxy_Tj3JprPYwCLcBGAs/s640/warcet4.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />And yet strangely lost. Warframe gives you a huge amount of detailed information and explains what almost none of it means. It's either invigorating or ennervating depending on your mood. Take the pet shop. I wanted to get a caged rodent to keep me company in my ship - because who wouldn't? - but I couldn't work out if the listed items (15 goopolla spleen, 11 mawfish bones) were the price the vendor was asking, the mats I needed to make it or what I was meant to feed it when I got it home.<br /><br />And what kind of space shooter has a pet shop anyway? This game is weird.<br /><br />Eventually I managed to tear myself away from the market stalls to look for the gateway to the Plains. I thought I'd seen that I had to talk to someone first and I was expecting to have to complete another mission to gain access but in the event I just clicked on the really big, really obvious door and there I was, outside.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WN4IT9BBW8g/W0sXW5JpsXI/AAAAAAAAUSY/8QIUyToSKK0pdSw5KX-W13c3oAJqc8r-wCLcBGAs/s1600/warframe7.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WN4IT9BBW8g/W0sXW5JpsXI/AAAAAAAAUSY/8QIUyToSKK0pdSw5KX-W13c3oAJqc8r-wCLcBGAs/s640/warframe7.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />Plains of Eidolon does indeed feel somewhat like the average desert zone of an MMO. Hot sun, baking rocks, looming towers, all of that. I wandered about exploring for a while without seeing any wildlife. Fragged a few rocks for mats. Wondered what to do.<br /><br />Then something popped on the HUD, some kind of timed event. I headed in the direction of the marker and next thing there were dropships and bad guys and running firefights. I took a bunch out, died a couple of times, didn't seem to be making much progress.<br /><br />The third time I died I stayed dead. I cancelled the mission, which gave me limited rewards but at least something, which I thought was sound design. I spent a while looking at my gear, auto-upgraded my mods and then I quit for the night.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r-h55tkMi5c/W0sXgU6VAeI/AAAAAAAAUSg/qqQlOWLkwdEL-fWFRlCGm8sV7lt_BswtgCLcBGAs/s1600/warframe8.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r-h55tkMi5c/W0sXgU6VAeI/AAAAAAAAUSg/qqQlOWLkwdEL-fWFRlCGm8sV7lt_BswtgCLcBGAs/s640/warframe8.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />I had fun. Warframe is good, I think. Definitely not my kind of thing but not not my kind of thing either. It would clearly require research and dedication to progress much further. Magson (aka pkude99) very kindly <a href="https://bhagpuss.blogspot.com/2018/07/if-all-your-friends-jumped-off-bridge.html?showComment=1531260435262#c8329465775297135311"><span style="color: magenta;">offered</span></a> to walk me through the learning process and I may end up taking him up on it later but for now I think I'll just potter along, absorbing the strange atmosphere and letting myself be surprised by happenstance. <br /><br />I might have to start reading the wiki though. I should at least find out how to buy myself a pet. Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-49072845562869114132018-07-13T22:10:00.002+01:002018-07-13T22:17:01.844+01:00Legends of Aria : Brief Impressions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nmySJbsJG0k/W0kBrE6rrsI/AAAAAAAAUQk/DgsamfghF0oqpGF1GC8n-ZC3JZZEK5JiwCLcBGAs/s1600/loa1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nmySJbsJG0k/W0kBrE6rrsI/AAAAAAAAUQk/DgsamfghF0oqpGF1GC8n-ZC3JZZEK5JiwCLcBGAs/s640/loa1.png" width="640" /></a></div>When I logged out last night, I was in two minds whether to post about <i><a href="https://www.legendsofaria.com/"><span style="color: magenta;">Legends of Aria</span></a>.</i> After all, I hadn't even been planning on playing it. In fact, I'd forgotten it existed until I happened to tab across to <i>Massively:OP</i> and land on a key giveaway. Never turn down a free beta key, even if it's only good for seven days. Every MMO is worth at least a look.<br /><br />The registration and installation process was very easy and Character creation is basic so that didn't take long. I went with a female warrior with red hair in a bob, wearing a crafting vest and a maxi-skirt straight out of 1972. No pictures, sadly. I hadn't loaded FRAPS and I failed to find any screenshot function. <br /><br />There were skills to choose and points to spend. I didn't realize that taking them overwrote the default skills you start with so I ended up with a Warrior who could tame animals but couldn't use a sword... or something. Honestly, I wasn't paying that much attention.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TlUf9MCBbeE/W0kPqLtndMI/AAAAAAAAUQw/6mc39XqRbG4AKScNwTAAvO3HaztlIgjlwCLcBGAs/s1600/loa6.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TlUf9MCBbeE/W0kPqLtndMI/AAAAAAAAUQw/6mc39XqRbG4AKScNwTAAvO3HaztlIgjlwCLcBGAs/s640/loa6.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And that's all you're getting!</td></tr></tbody></table><br />There was a choice of four starting areas. I picked the worst one. Actually, I can't say for absolute certain it's the worst. I've only seen one of the others. I just can't imagine there's anywhere less appealing than where I ended up that first time.<br /><br />The town I picked was a port on the edge of a desert. When I arrived the game gave me a perfunctory introduction to the UI and told me how to fight (hit Space, target your enemy and run at it - subtle!). After that I was on my own.<br /><br />The controls were abominable. WASD kind of worked. Perspective was a strangled three-quarter view. The screen wouldn't turn or rotate. The camera was fixed other than a limited dolly in and out.<br /><br />I struggled with that for a few minutes until I was on the verge of quitting and uninstalling. It was when I was googling to see if there was a screenshot key (nope) that I found out about the almost invisible cog on the mini-map that opens the Options screen.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bygN1g2Ixn4/W0kP3OrsVvI/AAAAAAAAUQ0/gFGPCLSnsxsmOZxHZBigMm02QS-5wnmawCLcBGAs/s1600/loa2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="888" data-original-width="1600" height="354" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bygN1g2Ixn4/W0kP3OrsVvI/AAAAAAAAUQ0/gFGPCLSnsxsmOZxHZBigMm02QS-5wnmawCLcBGAs/s640/loa2.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and my Big Book of Spells.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The limited choices there at least allowed me to enable full WASD and also click-to-move as well as to roatate the screen via the right mouse button. A combination of all those made the game just about playable so I carried on.<br /><br />There were NPCs but none of them seemed to do much. You could speak to them and they had a line or two of flavor dialog but nothing more. I had at least picked up that Legends of Aria is a full-fat sandbox so I took it that I was supposed to make my own entertainment. I jogged out of town looking for something to kill or gather, that being about the be-all and end-all of entetainment in most sandboxes at the start (apart, obviously, from being ganked by anyone a few sessions ahead of you).<br /><br />No-one did, in fact, gank me, although there were times when I would have willingly run onto a sword just to have something happen. In the event, once I was a few hundred yards from the gates I never saw another player, presumably because everyone had more sense than to run out of a perfectly good town into a desert filled with snakes.<br /><br />I spent the next hour or so jogging across one of the most featureless, boring maps I have ever seen in an MMORPG. Sand, sand, sand, sand, snake, snake, snake, snake, turtle, turtle, turtle, turtle, sand, sand, sand, sand.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a27P0ZT3b-Q/W0kQJt4OcPI/AAAAAAAAURA/467tY8CRuOInvzafTlBqSls2npb7TgSYwCLcBGAs/s1600/loa5.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="536" data-original-width="1520" height="224" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a27P0ZT3b-Q/W0kQJt4OcPI/AAAAAAAAURA/467tY8CRuOInvzafTlBqSls2npb7TgSYwCLcBGAs/s640/loa5.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the very rare occasions when my spell didn't fizzle and also hit something I was aiming at.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />I killed some turtles. They were easy. I killed some snakes. So were they. Various skills incremented by 0.2. Nothing had any loot but you could get meat from the snakes so I did. There was nothing else to do.<br /><br />I saw a wolf. I killed that. It was easy. I was beginning to think Warrior might be OP. I saw some camps full of humanoids. A lot of them. I edged close and they turned to look at me. Maybe not that OP. I thought better of it and carried on. After a while I was completely lost.<br /><br />There was no map. Just a mini-map that told me nothing I couldn't see for myself. I was fed up of running and killing snakes so I thought I'd see what was in my bag. A rolled-up map, that's what. I clicked on it and it opened a big map like you would expect to get in most MMOs if you hit "M".<br /><br />Old school. I quite liked that. I was less impressed by how much use it was. Not much. I spent a while trying to use the map to get back to where I started but I ended up going in circles. It was all getting too tedious. I logged out and went to bed.<br /><br />This evening when I came home from work I read <a href="http://www.levelcapped.com/2018/07/13/legends-of-aria-soul-of-the-elder/"><span style="color: magenta;">Scopique's first impressions post</span></a>. That did explain things a little. I'd forgotten Legends of Aria was The Game Formerly Known As <i>Shards</i>, which I have a vague memory of trying in some beta or other and disliking. I'd also forgotten it was supposed to be the spiritual successor of <i>Ultima Online</i>, an MMO I played for two weeks in the year 2000 and didn't really like all that much either.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ceV3NfrqE6Y/W0kQZGHCWkI/AAAAAAAAURE/el72RCjASFYy8_4qBqzqSbTBtDuz-bB5wCLcBGAs/s1600/loa3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="904" data-original-width="1476" height="390" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ceV3NfrqE6Y/W0kQZGHCWkI/AAAAAAAAURE/el72RCjASFYy8_4qBqzqSbTBtDuz-bB5wCLcBGAs/s640/loa3.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me recovering some mana. Only took me about ten attempts.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Still, I have the thing for a week. Might as well have another look. So this evening I made a new character, a Mage this time, and started in one of the other towns. That part of the world was a lot less unpleasant to look at , being green and leafy rather than tan and arid. There were also a lot more people around (none of whom ganked me, again).<br /><br />Other than that it was much the same only a lot harder. As in I died a lot and didn't kill much. Typical old school Mage/Warrior split. Warrior OP at start, Mage pathetic. My spells fizzled a lot and when they didn't the UI was so clunky I couldn't work out how to target and fire them before half my leg was eaten by a wolf. The heal spell made a nice healing sound and a glow but my health didn't seem to improve.<br /><br />When I died the first time it took me a while to work out how to revive. I found a stone eventually but it seemed like a bit of a faff. I was losing interest and when I got killed, twice, by ramapaging skeletons (first time I pulled one to see how tough it was, second time I think I was trained) I decided life (real life, that is) was too short.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W6UYfv5XVHs/W0kQn1PigYI/AAAAAAAAURM/qDQA9tiR_KY-mw41fnpcjATrt8PYRlomwCLcBGAs/s1600/loa4.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="898" data-original-width="1600" height="356" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W6UYfv5XVHs/W0kQn1PigYI/AAAAAAAAURM/qDQA9tiR_KY-mw41fnpcjATrt8PYRlomwCLcBGAs/s640/loa4.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Resurrecting a stone is for losers. Tool tip tells you that. In so many words. </td></tr></tbody></table><br />The reason I was in two minds about posting at all is that a) this is a proper beta and b) it takes a lot longer than a couple of hours to give even a fair "first impression" of an MMO. Anything I say would come over as unduly harsh.<br /><br />On the other hand, there is the argument that as a business, once you start taking money you're fair game for any criticism your customers want to throw at you. I didn't pay but someone did. The cheapest of the <a href="https://www.legendsofaria.com/purchase/"><span style="color: magenta;">beta buy-ins</span></a> starts at $29.99. It would also be difficult for me to invest the hours necessary to give the thing a fair shake because I cannot cope with the camera angles and perspective - they make me feel trapped and fractious, which is not exactly the leisure experience I'm looking for right now - or ever.<br /><br />That said, as Scopique points out, the finished version is supposed to allow players to create and host their own rule sets. Someone might make something more to my taste using the tools, I guess. I somehow doubt it but it's not impossible.<br /><br />Let's give it the benefit of the doubt for now. Open beta is due sometime later this year. I might take another look then. Or I might just skip it. I don't think it's really my sort of thing. Might be someone's, though.<br /><br />Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.com4